Six Summer Snippets
by T-Rex Marine
Summary: The Beacon crew & their pals hit the beaches of Patch for the summer holidays. Sit back and enjoy five chapters of fluff and one bonus character death chapter. So grab your cookies, pull up a deck chair and let the summer fun begin. T for mild language here and there but the last one is rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** What's this? The T-Rex Marine returns? Heh heh, yeah I'm back. Been a while since I put out some content, to my great regret. But I promise y'all readers, this dinosaur ain't extinct just yet. And to show it, I'm celebrating the summer with a five of my favourite RWBY pairings (plus one grizzly demise for one of my least favourite characters). So it's pretty much four weddings and a funeral, only instead it's five OTPs and a series of "unfortunate" events that result in the end of one character.

The stories all take place on a beach in Patch where the gang is hanging out of the holidays. None of the events of Volume 3 apply in this story, save for Yang and Weiss meeting Neon and Flynt.

This story is more or less to help me get back into my groove, so any criticism is welcomed and I hope you enjoy reading it.

 **Patch, Beach**

Yang laid back in the deck chair, soaking up the sun, along with her girlfriend, Neon Katt. Both girls were dressed in rather eye catching two piece swimsuits, Yang's gold and Neon's pink, and both sporting sunglasses.

As Yang took another sip from her glass of root beer, secretly spiked with real beer unbeknownst to one, overprotective Taiyang Xiao Long, she smirked at the sight of Neon uneasily staring at her, now roller-bladeless feet.

"I feel so naked", Neon said, with a wiggle of her toes.

Yang chuckled.

"Oh so the two piece swimsuit, fine. Having to take of your roller blades for the first time in, well, forever, _that's_ too much?"

"Hey, don't knock them! They're lucky", the cat Faunus pouted good naturedly.

"Oh really? If they're so _lucky_ , why'd they trip you up when we fought?"

"That…that was good luck too!", Neon protested.

"Oh really?", Yang challenged.

"Yeah!", Neon said, with a smile and clearly more confidence in her answer. "After all, they helped me meet you", she said, slightly lowering sunglasses to show her winking.

Yang blushed a little. It was sappy and very easy to think of. Still, she never tired of hearing how much her beloved "Kitty Katt" appreciated her company.

A tiny sliver of sadness made its way to her thoughts at that realisation.

In truth, she _always_ appreciated her time with Neon, because most of it consisted of an hour a day on a damned video screen.

She had been warned by some that a long distance relationship but was willing to keep up with Neon no matter what it took. She figured that it would be a breeze and that, if anything, it would just make her appreciate the time she spent with Neon in person even more.

Well, the second part was certainly true. But it was anything but a breeze.

Between assignments and missions, she could only ever squeeze in an hour at most with Neon. And even at that, Atlas experienced storms more frequently that any of the other Kingdoms. So even in those precious sixty minutes she got with her girlfriend, she was occasionally interrupted because of the damned weather ruining the connection, causing the blonde's eyes to go scarlet with rage.

And even when she got her one hour, with no interruptions, sleeping never felt right. Like, she was missing something. Or _someone._

These thoughts began to eat away at her, and she sighed a little, her cheery grin falling ever so slightly.

Neon picked up on this, frowning for a but a second before offering a comforting smile, as she placed a small hand on her blonde lover's larger knuckles.

The sudden contact caused Yang to raise her glance back to the Faunus.

"Hey. It's alright. We're here now. Relax".

Yang smiled back. "Sorry babe. It's just…sometimes I…"

"Relax, or I'll pout", Neon warned, childishly.

"You fiend!", Yang mock gasped. "You wouldn't dare to that to me. Show mercy!"

But it was too late, and Neon had already altered her facial expressions to make one of the cutest faces Yang had ever seen, challenged only by a toddler Ruby when she wouldn't get cookies, complete with pleading eyes that Yang would've _sworn_ had tears in them.

"I submit, I submit!"

Neon giggled. She then rested her head on Yang's left shoulder, purring in content.

 _Oh you little…why does she have to purr like that? She knows I break when she does that._

The two sat in a comfortable silence, watching their friends scurry around the beach. An adrenaline fuelled microcosm of beach activity.

Pyrrha and Jaune were setting up a picnic for later, the gladiator placing out the chairs and Jaune preparing the barbeque. To his credit, Jaune knew how to cook a damned good meal, and Yang admitted she was drooling at the thought of his hot dogs.

 _Drooling for Jaune's hot dog? Oh that is an innuendo I'm saving for later!_

Penny and Ruby were out swimming. She could just about make them out in the distance but their laughter could easily be heard, which made Yang's heart swell at her sister's happiness. Especially when it was with Penny. Her little sister always seemed much happier with her girlfriend around and Yang loved Penny for the assurance that she would do anything to see Ruby smile.

Blake was _reading,_ or trying to, being distracted by Sun adding her sunscreen in a very _attentive_ manner. She didn't know who was having more fun, Blake feeling his strong hands on her back or Sun watching her try hopelessly to uphold her forced glare as little reluctant mewls escaped.

 _So teasing her later._

Weiss was a stranger case. She had expected the well-spoken, refined Schnee woman to be taking a romantic stroll on the beach or, whatever the hell fancy people do at beaches. But when Weiss stated she had _never_ been to a beach before, at least not for fun, Flynt decided she needed catching up.

Weiss had seen a child laughing at being buried up to their neck in sand and demanded to know _why_ it was so fun to be buried. Flynt obliged her, and Weiss' face went red when he buried her up to her neck, then tracing a stick man figure of a woman with a very…generous bust. Weiss screeched once he showed her the picture he took on his Scroll after digging her back up, before laughing harder than she had ever heard Weiss laugh before the ridiculous image of herself.

 _Atta girl Ice Queen._

Ren and Nora…

Yang looked around seeing if the police had arrived yet.

Nora had drank ten jars of syrup, the supply for the trip and ran off in a sugar craze, Magnhild in hand yelling, "I am the lizard queen!". Ren gave chase soon after.

That was two hours ago.

 _I_ _really_ _hope he finds her._

Neon seemed to be enjoying the show as well. Suddenly, something new caught her eye. A few rather attractive men surfing.

Yang's eyes wandered to this sight too and, noticing her girlfriend's stares, decided to tease her.

"Ahem. Neon? Plenty of beach body goodness right next to you sweetie", Yang teased in mock annoyance, gesturing to her well-formed figure.

"Oh trust me, I know. Still, can't say I'm impressed".

"Hey!"

"At the surfing, Big Girl", Neon reassured, chuckling a little at Yang's briefly hurt ego.

"I mean, yeah, they're good but they lack flair".

"Yeah I know what you mean. If it were me out there, then this beach would see a real show".

"You? Oh no no no no, dear, you mean _me._ Nora may be queen of the castle and lizards apparently, but _I_ am the Queen of the Waves".

Yang scoffed. "Queen of the Waves? Please. You come from a place that snows three seasons a year. Patch is my turf. I own these waves!"

"Oh really?", Neon said, discarding her shades, staring at Yang challengingly.

"Yeah. Really", Yang reaffirmed, discarding her own shades to meet Neon's green eyes.

Yang loved Neon but she really loved a challenge.

"Well Big Girl, I see only one way to settle this".

"Surf off it is!"

"I'll grab my board back at the house. I'm sure we have a spare for you…"

Neon planted her board, sporting a rainbow stripe from top to bottom.

"Brought my own", she said nonchalantly.

 _Oh she so planned this._

Yang had assumed that Neon had actually hoped to get Yang into a challenge to take her mind off the short amount of time they'd have together. Neon knew when Yang was challenged, she was focused.

She smiled at the thoughtful gesture.

Then she dashed off to retrieve her board.

 **Patch, Beach Side Waves**

Yang had retrieved her old board, a yellow one, sporting her black fire emblem, from her house after a quick trip on Bumblebee. The two wasted no time in rushing for the water.

The rules were clear. First to fall off their board, loses.

Neon seemed confident enough, claiming she "Never misses a beat", to which Yang reminded her that she had once before. Neon promptly responded by scowling and blushing, much to Yang's amusement.

They had both started at a fairly even level. As time progressed, Yang and Neon upped their games, each doing their best to outperform the other. Yang had met Neon for every last one of her moves.

As the two thrill seeker's competitive streaks took place of their rationality, they began performing more and more daring moves, looping around the waves and launching themselves in the air, holding onto their boards, all the while, desperate not to lose their balance.

Yang was enjoying herself, but the time for fun was over. Now it was time to end this.

She scanned her surrounding and saw the build-up of one massive wave and turned to Neon, who only grinned back and nodded.

 _This_ would be the tie breaker.

They both guided their boards to towards the wave and rode the build-up, going higher and higher.

"You're going down this time, big girl!", Neon called.

"Oh yeah? Says who?"

"The Queen of the Waves, babe! Whoo!"

Yang smirked, getting ready to manoeuvre herself into the direction of the wave. But she must've miscalculated, because her actions had caused her to jerk frantically, her erratic movements breaking her concentration, before ultimately slipping off her board.

She gasped in shock and a slight bit of fear. She had still been rather high whilst riding the wave and it was a long way down.

She closed her eyes tight as she descended, but upon her impact, she didn't feel the hard splash of water on her back, but rather two small, and surprisingly strong hands holding her.

She opened her eyes to see Neon, having caught her before impact and surfing out of the rapidly collapsing tunnel of water the wave's climax had created.

Neon looked down at Yang, still carrying her bridal style, worried but relieved.

"Babe? You okay?"

Yang lacked words so simply nodded, with a smile.

Neon let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn Big Girl, do _not_ scare me like that! Nearly had a heart attack".

Yang was once more touched by her concern.

"What's the matter Kitty Katt? I get your heart beating faster?"

"You _always_ do that Big Girl. I would just appreciate less dramatic methods of doing so".

Yang chuckled.

Neon gently placed Yang at the back of the board.

"Here, we should be able to find your board. It can't have gone far", Neon said, reassuringly.

Yang wrapped her arms around the Faunus' slender belly and rested her chin on her right shoulder.

"You're awesome babe".

"You mean "super crazy awesome", but I know you already know that. Tell me what _else_ you know I am?", she said with a shit eating grin.

Yang sighed in defeat and rolled her eyes.

"Neon Katt, I bow before you as Queen of the Waves. Do you accept my humble apology?"

Neon laughed at Yang's overdramatic announcement.

"Hmmmm, perhaps. If I receive _victory kisses_ once we come ashore, I may forgive you", she said with equal drama.

Yang planted a big, wet kiss on Neon's neck, nibbling just a little, the way Neon loved it, obvious by her loud purring.

"As you command, my Queen".

 **Patch, Shore**

After a brief search, Neon had retrieved Yang's board and the duo returned to the shore, were Neon received her "victory kisses" fairly quickly upon their arrival.

Yang felt amazing.

After having to endure an unfair amount of time separated from the hyperactive Faunus, she savoured the taste of her lover's lips and the sensation of her tongue battling against her own.

The two once again entered a silent contest to see who could make the other make the loudest noises.

Even in love, they were competitive.

After their lip-locking ceased for oxygen requirements, Yang laid back against her propped up board, with Neon snuggling up against her.

"God this takes me back".

"Hmmm?"

"Oh nothin, it's just…some of my best memories were made here. Mom and Dad used to take me and Ruby here when the weather was good. I was…really damned happy back then. Really different too".

"How so?", Neon said curiously.

"Well, for starters, I was much more hyper active. Once my "older sibling senses" kicked in, I had to grow up a little more for Ruby's sake, but back then? Man, I was wild! Dad used to freak out over half the things I got up to".

Yang trailed off chuckling.

"This…this one time, Ruby and I got a tonne of popcorn seeds and filled the bath tub with them. I sat in it, put a bit of pepper on my finger sniffed it and…" Yang threw her hands up in a big gesture.

"WHOOSH! Big heat flash and the bathroom is _full_ of popcorn!"

Neon giggled uncontrollably. "You're kidding, right? That's awesome!"

"Yeah. Dad went nuts though. Mom tried to sound serious too, but winked when Dad wasn't watching".

Yang looked a little sad at the bittersweet memory of her mother.

 _Not "Ruby's mom", just Mom. She was the one who kissed my scraped knees, tucked me in at night and made any rainy day sunny. She's my_ _real_ _mother._

"God I loved that woman…", Yang said under her breath, half nostalgic, half bitter.

Neon knew Yang's parentage was always a delicate topic and decided to redirect Yang on a more comfortable path.

"What else was different about you?"

Shaking off her more negative thoughts, Yang thought back to her younger self.

"Not much I suppose. Oh wait there was one thing but…", Yang didn't finish, looking away from Neon.

"Yang?", Neon asked, looking over at Yang.

She was blushing.

"Oooh, it's embarrassing! Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetellmetell-"

"Alright, alright!", Yang yelled, breaking under her girlfriend's relentless questioning.

"I…" Yang took a deep breath and confessed.

I used to have…pig tails".

A short silence filled the atmosphere.

Then Neon squealed.

"Oh. My. God! You must have looked adorable".

Yang chuckled a little. "Yeah, I was a little cutie back then".

"Now you're a _big_ sexy cutie", Neon teased.

"You know, if you keep teasing me, I'm going to test just how accurate that "Nine lives" stuff is for Faunus", Yang warned, but still blushing.

Neon looked up at Yang.

"Yang. Would you let me…never mind".

Yang looked back down at Neon, a little dismayed.

She never wanted Neon to feel nervous around her. She wanted her to be able to ask her anything.

"What is it Kitty Katt?"

Neon spoke up once more.

"Would you let me do your hair?", she said, removing her own hair bonds, releasing a cascade of ginger hair fall free.

"I'd like to see what you used to look like".

Yang was taken a little aback.

Yes, despite her caution of people touching her beloved golden mane, Neon was welcomed to touch it. What had surprised her, was the almost pleading tone Neon had used.

The need to get a glimpse at a Yang who was happier. To make her _feel_ like she was that little care free girl again.

 _This girl makes me feel like I'm royalty._

Neon knew just how to read people. She knew just how to make her feel better.

It was one of the many reasons they worked so well together.

Yang nodded and turned around.

Neon's hands went to work, gently working with the golden strands, treating them with the upmost care and respect. Yang could tell by the slow, gentle pace Neon was working at, that she appreciated the trust the blonde placed in the Faunus girl. It warmed her heart every time Neon proved that trust wasn't misplaced.

Yang started moaning a little at the ministrations employed by her girlfriend. Every now and then, she'd stroke her golden mane when Yang tensed up, relaxing her almost instantly.

After the blissful time of enjoying her girlfriend's hand's stroking her hair, Yang toyed with her new pigtails.

It was just a different look but, she had to admit, it felt nostalgic.

"Wow Yang…you look beautiful", Neon said, her voice filled with awe.

Yang threw her arms out at Neon, pulling her into a crushing embrace.

"Thanks Kitty Katt. This day's been amazing".

Yang suddenly felt Neon's body sag at her sentence.

"Yeah. Today was…pretty good", Neon said in an obviously forced attempt at sounding happy.

Concerned, Yang pulled Neon back to see her face, only to be further upset that Neon wouldn't look Yang in the eye.

"Neon, what's wrong?"

"Nothing", she said a little choked. "You're right, today was great and we should really enjoy it because…b-because…", and then she couldn't keep up the charade anymore.

"B-b-Because in t-two weeks I'll h-have to go back and I…I don't want to!", she wailed.

Yang's heart clenched. She _hated_ Neon crying and pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering sweet words of comfort to soothe her.

"It's okay Kitty Katt".

"No it's not! And you know it's not", Yang couldn't help but agree.

"I tried to avoid this all day but I can't. I'm tired of having to hear your voice from a damned speaker. I'm tired of crying into my pillow, wishing you were beside me while I'm in bed. I'm tired of only being able to enjoy your warmth for those few joint missions, only to have to live for weeks without it again".

Yang rubbed the small of the girl's back, shushing her softly.

She knew exactly how Neon felt.

Yang had felt the exact same way.

Neon sniffled. "I don't…I don't want _us_ to end Yang. God please believe me when I say don't want that".

"I know Kitty Katt".

"It's just…I miss you so much. Being away from you for six months when I see everyone else with their partners it just…"

"Pisses you off?", Yang answered. "And you hate that, being mad at your friends for having what we can't. You know it's not their fault, but you can't help it. I know how it feels, love. I feel it too".

Neon sniffled again, looking at Yang.

"How do you cope with it?"

Yang smiled, tears beginning to brim in her own eyes.

"I have a little…well, let's call it a ritual. It helps me get to bed or feel better when the stress of being away from you gets a little too much. Wanna hear it?", Neon nodded at the offer.

"I close my eyes and I imagine I'm not where I am. Instead, it's three years forward and I'm a fully-fledged huntress. I'm freelance, travelling the world, smashing the crap out of Grimm and inspiring tall tales everywhere I go. I never stay in one place. But I have one exception", Yang grinned, lilac pools shining at hopeful green ones.

"There's an apartment in Vacuo that I retire to after every successful mission. Inside that apartment, there's this loud, cheerful voice, singing some song that's going too fast for even me to understand. She knows every word though. She _never_ misses a beat".

Neon chuckled wetly.

"I cover her eyes when she can't see me and sing, "Guess who's back" and laugh when her cute pink tail flicks happily. I scoop her up in my arms and kiss her like it's my last day on Remnant. We part for breath and then we peer into each other's eyes and we smile and nod. Because we _know,_ no matter what happens, no matter how far or how long we are apart, we'll be back in each other's arms".

Neon chuckled, wetly.

"Yang…"

Yang cupped Neon's face and peered into her eyes.

"Yeah babe?"

"This girl in your dreams. She sounds like competition".

This made both of them giggle. "Oh she's something Kitty Katt. Perfect legs, cute face, great ass and a smile that makes my heart go wild. Buuuuut…", she said, her mouth moving next to Neon's ear.

"I prefer the _real thing_ to a dream, any day".

And with that, they kissed once more.

Not the little teases from earlier, but a passion filled expression that promised they'd be together. Tomorrow. Two weeks' time. Three years from now, it didn't matter.

They were tough enough to overcome any obstacle

As long as they had chance of being in each other's arms again, they'd be fine.

"Thanks Yang".

"Anytime, Kitty Katt", Yang hummed as she scooped the smaller girl into a warm hug.

"C'mon. The food smells like it's ready and I have a dozen dirty hot dog innuendos saved for this".

Neon held onto Yang as she began to stand.

"Uh uh. As the confirmed Queen of the Waves, I have one last demand of my loyal subject".

"Oh and what might that be?"

Neon smirked. "Carry me".

Yang rolled her eyes but smiled.

"As you wish your majesty", she said and brought Neon up on her back.

The two then set off to enjoy the food and make their friends groan at truly terrible jokes.

 **Patch, Shore (Tent area)**

Neon was sleeping peacefully in the tent she and Yang were sharing.

As if on cue, the blonde brawler crept her way into the tent, stopping at her girlfriend's feet, which she gently poked to wake her up.

"Neon?"

"Nnnggghhhh"

Yang poked once more, harder this time. "Neeeeoooonnn"

"Ngh!"

"Okay, grumpy cat, I tried to be nice…", Yang smirked wickedly, poking her Faunus lover's feet with some ice Dust.

Neon leapt up out of her blanket as something freezing touched her feet.

"Yang, what the actual hell?!"

"Shush, be quiet. I have a surprise for you", Yang said with a smile.

Neon dropped her scowl. "Fine, what is it?", she said, with just a little bit of unintended venom at having been so rudely awoken. Yang however didn't seem to mind.

"I wanted to give you something", she said, holding out a small piece of string and placing it over Neon's head, around her neck.

"Uuumm. Okay Yang, thanks for the…" she was about to thank Yang for the strange gift when she actually saw what was so special about this gift.

At the centre of the string, holding it in a hoop shape, was a single golden strand of Yang's mane.

Neon's eyes shot open.

"Holy crap Yang! What-"

"It's okay. I wanted to give it to you. Because you're right Neon. I'm tired of feeling like you're so far away. I know this is…weird-"

"By your standards, this is normal", Neon quipped, still touched.

"Shut up, we're having a moment", Yang giggled. "I just want you to know that, wherever we are, how long we're away. You will always have me, Neon Katt", she looked into her eyes, dead serious.

"Always".

As strange a gesture it was, Neon knew how much Yang valued her hair, and that she had parted with even a single strand, solely to make Neon feel better, had nearly made the short Faunus girl's heart burst with joy.

Even if it wasn't her big busty blonde girl herself, it felt better knowing that, in some way, Yang was with her.

Neon held nothing back, lunging forward and pinning her girlfriend down for a barrage of sweet kisses, tears brimming in her eyes.

"Thanks Yang. For everything".

Yang wrapped her strong arms around her girlfriend's back. "We're gonna be fine Neon. We have two whole weeks together. Let's not waste them worrying about the future".

"Oh I'm not worried about the future anymore. Especially now that you're here".

"That's good to know", Yang sighed, hugging her girlfriend tightly.

After six months of painful waiting, Neon had finally gotten her wish, lying beside her beloved "Big Girl" once again.

And she slept in the comforting thought that she would have many more nights like this one in the future.

Patience is difficult to achieve. But being able to feel Yang's warmth against her body, feeling safe and loved in her strong embrace and seeing those beautiful lilac eyes before going to sleep.

That was all the motivation Neon ever needed to get through those long night's without Yang.

And some day, those nights would just be a distant memory in a life filled with cheer, on the day Yang and Neon's dream of a life together became a reality.

The wait would be hard, on both of them.

But neither girl could back down from a challenge. Especially when the other was involved.

 **So just a little Neon X Yang fluff to start us off. This pairing really grew on me and it's a pity there aren't a lot out there.**

 **I hope to have my next pairing, Nuts and Dolts, up reasonably soon, so stay tuned for some more summer fun with the RWBY crew and if you like, see if you can guess who the poor soul I'm putting up on the chopping block in Chapter Six is.**

 **Until next time, this is T-rex Marine saluting (with his tiny two fingered hand) you readers and wish you an awesome time and look forward to hearing from you again and please have a wonderful summer!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N** Okey dokes. First order of business, a very kind fellow by the name of AntonSalvik020 pointed out to me that I wasn't clear in what is happening in Chapter 6. To be clearer, yes, someone is going to die, but it will **NOT** be any of the Beacon crew. It is a special character that will not be mentioned in any of the other Chapters. So, if they are mentioned in the story before Chapter 6, they're safe.

Secondly, it won't be a tragedy Chapter. When they are killed off, it's gonna feel more like an episode of Itchy and Scratchy than a heart wrenching tale of demise. And trust me. It won't be some gentle soul that didn't deserve it. Some of you may even find it satisfying (dark smile).

Anyways. Back to Chapter 2. This one takes place at roughly the same time as the first. Not that continuity will be vital, just to give you guys and gals a clearer idea of what's happening. Also, some sections take some insight into Penny's thought process.

Now, with that out of the way, we now return to our feature presentation.

 **Patch, Beach**

"Okay boy. Go long!"

Zwei yelped happily as Ruby tossed the hyper active corgi's ball once more. She cheered him on, as his turned into a furry blur, speeding off to retrieve his beloved toy. She suddenly noticed the sound of footsteps approaching from behind her and turned to see her girlfriend, sporting a green summer dress.

"Hey Penny, how ya doin'?", Ruby asked with a wave.

"I'm feeling wonderful! Thank you so much for inviting me here. I'm having lots of fun", Penny chirped, widening Ruby's smile.

As if there was even a chance Ruby wouldn't invite Penny. When she arrived at the docking bay with Flynt and Neon, Ruby practically catapulted herself into Penny's arms. Granted, her ribs were swiftly crushed in her girlfriend's loving embrace, but it was worth it.

True, she partially shared her sister's frustration of her girlfriend being so far away, but Penny was able to visit far more often, due to Atlas' continued military presence in Vale and Penny's uncanny ability slip past her handlers.

Still, every day with Penny was a gift to Ruby.

"So, watcha doin?", Ruby inquired.

"Oh nothing much. I am not well affiliated with beach activities. I asked Blake to aid inform me and she advised that I attempt something called, "Sun bathing". After approximately one hour and thirty six minutes of absorbing concentrated solar energy, I do not believe I have received the same satisfaction as she did".

"That's probably cus she had some extra _Sun_ contact, am I right?", an all too familiar voice boomed.

"Why hello Yang. You are looking wonderful today", Penny complemented.

"Oh what, just today? I'm hurt", Yang teased.

Penny suddenly looked guilty.

"Oh, I am sorry Yang. I did not mean to upset you-"

"Hey, hey, hey, Pen, chill. I was just kidding. Thank you for the compliment".

Penny's social graces, while having improved upon interacting with the Beacon crew, where still in need of some fine tuning.

"Anyways Blake's having so much fun cus monkey-boy over there is slathering her in sun screen".

Penny turned to see that, Yang was indeed correct in her assessment.

 **Observation:** Blake appears far more satisfied upon receiving physical contact with Sun.

 **Evidence:** Blake's purring has increased in a volume and frequency by 65%

 **Conclusion:** Organics escapist activities enhanced by participation of romantic other.

 **Suggestion:** Engage in activities with Ruby.

"Ruby, would you "slather" me in sun screen to increase my enjoyment of sun bathing?"

Ruby's face went as red as the stone her name shared and Yang doubled over laughing.

"Wow, Penny! Ha ha ha! At least buy the girl dinner first, ha ha ha!"

"Shut it Yang!"

Penny was confused. "Is it normal for the partner asking to offer food first?"

Yang simply laughed harder.

"Yang, quit it!", Ruby whined, elbowing her sister and turning back to Penny.

"No, Penny, you don't have to buy me dinner. It's just people aren't so…forward when asking things like that".

Penny nodded. "Sorry. I am still grasping at organic protocols for escapist activities", Penny sighed.

"Cheer up, Pen", Yang said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "First, there aren't really any protocols. They're more of, guidelines".

"Like when Mr Xiao Long forbade bringing alcohol on this trip, but you did anyway?"

"You what?!", Ruby gasped.

"Heh heh", Yang chuckled nervously, scratching the back of her head. "Yeah, kinda like that. How did you know…"

"I made a contents list of all the supplies we brought on the trip", Penny declared proudly.

"Of course you did", Yang sighed.

"Would you like to hear it?"

"No! And uh, could you not repeat it to my dad?"

"Affirmative. However, I believe I should alert you that the syrup supply is no longer available".

Ruby and Yang looked at each other nervously.

"Oh dear God", the said simultaneously.

"I AM THE LIZARD QUEEN!", Nora yelled, running with Magnhild.

"NORA, PUT THE HAMMER DOWN!", Ren cried, chasing after her.

All three girls stood in silence.

"Well. _That_ happened", Yang said, breaking the silence before returning her attention to Penny.

"But Penny, it's really simple. Pick something, you think looks fun and just go for it".

Penny looked around.

 **Scanning:** Organics enjoy creating constructs composed of sand.

Penny opened her back hatch and used her swords to dig up a large amount of sand, which she proceeded to swiftly carve intricate designs into, until the lump of sand now resembled an exact copy of Beacon Academy.

"Did I do it right?"

Ruby and Yang's jaws hit the floor.

"Uh, yeah", Yang said dumbstruck. "Anything _else,_ you wanna do?"

 **Resume Scanning:** Organics venture into the ocean at dangerous length from shore.

 **Error:** No data to comprehend this.

"Ruby, are those people okay?", Penny asked, pointing out towards the people swimming.

"Oh yeah, they're just swimming".

 _Swimming_

 **Conclusion:** Organics enjoy being surrounded by water. Will investigate as too why.

"Ruby, would you like to go swimming with me?", Penny asked.

"Daww' come on sis, now you have to. She used that, "You kicked my puppy voice", Yang teased.

Ruby glared at her sister, before looking back at Penny.

"Sure Penny. I'll go swimming with you".

Penny leaped up into the air. "Sensational! Let's go Ruby! I am swimming ready!"

"Penny wait!", Ruby called after her, stopping the girl in her tracks.

"Yes Ruby?"

"You may not want to get your sundress wet".

"Oh of course. Thank you Ruby", Penny replied, before attempting to remove her sundress.

"PENNY WAIT!", both sisters yelled this time.

"I thought you said the sundress would be inadequate for swimming", Penny said innocently.

"Yes but that doesn't mean you should…expose that much of yourself in public".

"What amount of skin is acceptable to be exposed?"

Ruby was in hell.

"Uh…I…"

Yang grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Just wear something like what I'm wearin. I've got a spare in the car if you want".

"Thank you Yang. I'll be back soon!", Penny called, running back to the car to change.

"Yang, what the hell!?", Ruby wailed at her sister/tormentor.

"What, just helping her out", Yang feigned in innocence.

"Yeah, but she could've borrowed one of _my_ suits. You always wear…less".

Yang grinned in amusement. "Aww, does little sis not wanna see Penny rocking some sexy summer wear?"

"No! I mean yes! I mean…grrrrr, I hate you!", a flustered Ruby growled.

"I'm ready!", Penny called.

"Damn, that was soon", Yang remarked.

Penny was now sporting an orange bikini that did indeed, affect Ruby.

As in her pupils were unable to remove themselves from the sight of her girlfriend looking so good in swimwear.

 _Damn! Synthetic skin or not, she looks amazing!_

Ruby was snapped out of her gazing by a small weight dropping at her feet. She looked down to see Zwei returning his ball with a happy yelp.

"Oh sorry boy, but I'm going to go swimming now".

The little corgi flattened his ears on his head an whined.

"Aww, Zwei is malfunctioning. Can I help?", Penny offered.

"Oh he's alright, he just wants his ball thrown", Yang said.

Penny looked at the ball picked it up and threw it as far as she could, the toy disappearing off into the distance.

"Oh boy", Yang said.

"Oh I'm sorry boy-"

Ruby was about to comfort Zwei about losing his toy, but to her surprise, he was off in a flash, yipping happily.

"Huh. Must've taken that as a challenge", Yang concluded. "Well, you two lovers have fun. I've got a pussy cat in need of petting", she grinned.

"Urgh, you're so lewd!", Ruby pouted.

"Come on Ruby, let's go!" Penny cheered, leading her into the water.

As the two girls went off, Yang sighed and smiled softly.

For all her teasing, she was genuinely happy for Ruby. As her big sister, she was always worried her first love would turn out to be some bitch who would break her little sister's heart and then she'd have to break their spine.

But Penny? Yang didn't even think Penny was capable of comprehending hurting Ruby, much less doing it. And she saw it in Ruby's silver eyes, that the young synth girl meant the world to her.

"She's a keeper sis. Look after her", Yang muttered to herself, before turning to spend time with her Kitty Katt.

 **Patch, Waters**

"I believe I am getting used to this!", Penny cheered as she swam up next to Ruby.

Ruby had never considered herself a teacher, always more of a student, but luckily, Penny was a fast learner. All she had to do was watch Ruby and she had analysed her movements and was able to mimic them perfectly.

 _She's still full of surprises._

To Ruby, Penny was a mystery. A being whose heart never made a sound, yet was bigger than almost anyone she'd ever met. It truly irritated her how anyone could think of her as a lesser creature, simply because she was made of metal instead of "squishy stuff".

She was kind, beautiful and so…alive. Penny always lived her life to the fullest, cherishing every last minute of her life, even though she would probably be able to outlive most organics.

And you could never find a truer friend. If she said she trusted you, she meant it. There was no deceit in her words, something Ruby treasured. She appreciated the risk she was taking in revealing her secret to her. Even more so now that the rest of her team, along with Team JNPR and Flynt and Neon finding out. Her team and JNPR because apparently, no one in Beacon can have a private life and Neon and Flynt had found out themselves back in Atlas due to Penny's odd mannerisms.

She returned from her daydreaming to focus her attention on Penny herself, who'd really gotten the hang of swimming for someone on her first attempt.

"You're doing great Penny".

"Thank you Ruby. I must say, I am still confused as to why organics, uh, I mean _most people",_ she hastily corrected, lest someone overhear them, "enjoy being in an area where they are likely to be either assaulted by a sea creature or face the chance of drowning".

"Heh heh, I suppose it sounds kinda silly when you put it like that. But, we organics have an old saying. No _risk._ No _reward"._

Penny seemed interested, but confused. "But wouldn't their chances of receiving a reward if they choose to avoid risks that would end their chances of surviving to receive said reward?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. But you only get the _really_ good rewards if you risk what you have already".

Penny still did not seem to comprehend how endangering all that you had outweighed receiving one reward.

"I am…still not sure of what you mean".

"I'm sure you'll figure it out one day Penny", Ruby said, smiling warmly.

The two were then surprised to hear a large amount of cheering coming from the shore.

They turned to see the source of the cheering, as a few beach goers had taken to leaping off a rock formation and plunging deep into the water.

Penny seemed fascinated by the concept.

Ruby. Less so.

 _Ah crap. Why did we have to turn around?_

Ruby and Yang had more experience around this beach than anyone else. They knew every last inch of it from years of trips with their parents. And Ruby _definitely_ remembered _that_ Cliffside.

When she and Yang were younger, Yang had seen some of the older kids diving off of the rock and decided they should give it a try.

At first, she was eager to join her sister and some of the older kids in their fun.

Then she _actually_ reached the top of the rock and saw just _how_ high it really was.

Back then, to a much younger Ruby Rose, that moderately high rock formation, was pretty much Mountain Glenn. And _she_ was at the top of it.

She froze up and scared stiff. She just curled up and cried until Yang came back to walk her back down.

Of course, since becoming a Huntress in training, she had dealt with much scarier than a moderately high rock face. But the thing is, when something scares you as a child, no matter how trivial, it can be difficult to overcome it.

 _I mean Yang beats the crap out of gangsters and Grimm, but she is still scared of spiders._

She was about to dissuade Penny from thinking about jumping off the damned thing, not wanting to find out if any traces of her old fear still remained.

But her resolve crumbled upon seeing Penny's green eyes light up with interest and that damned, sweet smile she had when something caught her interest.

"Oh they look like they're having such fun! Let's join them!", the lively android cheered, swimming in the direction of the cliff until she noticed Ruby was still staring at it.

"Ruby? Would you like to join me?", Penny asked, returning Ruby's focus to Penny, sucking up her nervousness and forced a smile onto her face.

"Y-yeah. Sure. Be right there", she said, as she swam after her girlfriend, her pace nowhere near as enthusiastic as Penny's.

 **Patch, Cliffside**

Penny and Ruby had finished the trek to reach the top of the cliff. There was a small line formed of people diving off, most of them locals from Patch like Ruby and Yang, enjoying the summer weather while it lasted.

Penny grew more and more fascinated as each teen leapt from the rock, cheering as they descended, before splashing. It _still_ did not make any sense to her as to why organics found great enjoyment in putting their survival at risk, but she did believe that this experience would provide her some insight.

And of course, Ruby would be with her, to help her understand.

Penny cherished the little red hooded girl. It was Ruby who she first ever trusted with her secret and to this day, it was her best decision. Ruby had taught her so much about being a real girl.

 _Even…even if I'm not a real girl._

She knew she shouldn't think of herself like that. Ruby never liked it when she thought of herself as less for being synthetic. Even if she did feel that way, for the precious moments she got with Ruby, she _felt_ real.

What they _felt_ for each other, had to be real.

They were finally in line to make the dive. Penny grabbed Ruby's hand and got ready to rush in and dive.

"Come on Ruby, let's-", Penny was about to pull Ruby along with her and dive, when she felt stiff resistance from Ruby.

Penny looked back up at Ruby and quickly noticed she didn't look well.

 **Warning:** Ruby's emotional state is not performing at optimum level.

 **Evidence:** Accelerated breathing. Muscles tensed. Sweat rate increased.

 **Conclusion:** Ruby is nervous.

 **Priority:** Remedy situation!

"Ruby…", Penny said comfortingly, placing a hand on the shivering brunette, calming her down a little.

"Are you okay?"

Ruby looked up to Penny, her worry for her concern touching her and allowing her to relax.

"Yeah. I'm good. Sorry it's just…I'm a little scared", Ruby confessed.

Ruby had been worried Penny would be disappointed that she wouldn't be able to have fun with her and she was beginning to feel really guilty about letting her stupid, irrational childhood fears ruin her quality time with Penny.

 _Dammit Ruby, you've jumped off higher than this in training! Why can't you just-_

Ruby's harsh self-assessment of her resolve was cut short by Penny hugging her and burying her face into the crook of the ginger girl's neck, as she brushed her brunette hair soothingly.

"Oh Ruby, that's okay. You should've alerted me earlier that this activity made you feel uneasy. We can do something else that we both enjoy".

"But, you looked like you really wanted to try this-"

"I wanted to try this with _you_ Ruby. It wouldn't be nearly as fun without you".

Ruby was touched by Penny's characteristic sincerity. She could've thanked Penny for her understanding of the situation and go do something else.

But she remembered her own words to Penny earlier.

 _No risk. No reward._

Ruby wanted to have fun with Penny. And she also wanted to get over this ridiculous fear of this stupid cliff! She was gonna kill two birds with one stone.

"Penny…I want to do it", Ruby said, taking a deep breath before being completely sure about her decision.

"Are you certain Ruby? I want you to enjoy this too".

"Yeah, I am. It's like I said earlier. Sometimes, you have to be willing to take risks to get what you want. And I want to be able to do things like this with you".

Penny smiled and nodded.

The two girls walked up to the edge and peered down into the bottom.

They looked at each other, Ruby closing her eyes and nodding with a smile to reassure Penny that this was definitely what she wanted.

"On the count of three. Ready?", Ruby spoke, feeling more confident with Penny holding her hand.

The two counted in unison.

"One".

"Two".

"Three!"

With that final count, the two left, squealing n a mix of fear and excitement as they plunged into the water and made a massive splash".

Ruby, who'd had her eyes screwed shut throughout the whole descent, opened them quickly upon realising she was now surrounded by water.

For the short amount of time she could hold her breath, she took in the sight of vibrant colours of the coral reefs and all the strange but amazing shapes and sizes the sea life came in.

Recollecting her senses, she started kicking her feet and ascended, breaking the surface and taking a big gasp, refilling her lungs with precious oxygen.

Safe to say, that was definitely one the best instances when she "broke out of her shell", as Yang put it.

"That was awesome! Oh my God, that was so exciting! We were all like, WHOOSH! And then we hit the water and we were like, SPLASH!", Ruby giggled of, her nerves resetting.

"Wow Penny, you were right. That was really fun. What you think Penny?", Ruby looked around to notice, there was no sign of her girlfriend.

"Penny?"

 _No. No she definitely jumped with me, we jumped at the same time. She was with me. Where could've she…_

A realisation dawned on Ruby.

Penny was new to swimming and she had not resurfaced from their dive.

"No", she squeaked out, her voice laced with worry.

All of a sudden, all her negative sentiment of this part of the beach came rushing back with a vengeance.

 _This can't be happening! Stupid cliff, stupid fear, stupid me for agreeing to this! Gotta find Penny! Gotta find Penny!_

"Penny! PENNY!", Ruby called out frantically.

She took a deep breath and ducked her head under water, desperately searching for any sign of Penny.

She scanned the area for any trace of her.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Penny, who was floating dangerously close to the bottom.

And…was also staring at Ruby and waving.

Ruby went from terrified to confused in an instant.

And then, she realised something important.

 _Oh right. Robot girlfriend. No oxygen required._

Ruby swam back up to the surface and found she couldn't stop laughing at how ridiculously worked up she'd gotten over nothing.

Penny shortly resurfaced from the depths and swam up next to Ruby, wearing a confused expression at Ruby's laughter.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

Ruby calmed herself down enough to look Penny in the face again.

"Yeah Penny I'm good. Just…what took you so long so swim back up?"

"Oh, well while we were diving, my long range optical scanners detected something at the bottom that I wished to retrieve for you?"

"Me?", Ruby asked, a little confused. "What did you find?"

Penny slowly outstretched her left arm and slowly opened her palm too reveal two, shiny dark red pearls.

Ruby's mouth was trying to form words, but only tiny squeaks managed to escape her.

"I located the oyster which possessed the pearls during our descent. Once I retrieved them, I noticed their colour was Bordeaux, and I believed the colour would be to your liking".

Ruby had tears brimming in her eyes.

In less than ten minutes, Penny had helped her overcome an old childhood fear, had her heart racing out of excitement, fear and joy in the same space of time and now, she had just gotten her a beautiful, thoughtful gift.

 _This girl is…sensational!_

"Do you…do you like them?", Penny asked hesitantly.

Ruby gently took one of the pearls before wrapping her girlfriend in a tight hug, feathering her face in kisses.

"I love it, Penny! You're the best girlfriend ever! Of all time!"

Penny, though lacking blood vessels to blush, looked flustered by the shower of praise she received from her girlfriend.

She slowly returned the hug, finally meeting her beloved with a passionate kiss that took the red clad girl by surprise.

After breaking away so Ruby could breathe, she flashed a smile.

"You are most welcome Ruby".

 **Patch, Cliffside**

Ruby and Penny and rushed up to the top of the Cliffside multiple times, diving again and again, spicing it up a little with cannonball and challenges to see who could make the biggest splash, though the latter was easy to decide, as Penny's metallic frame allowed her to land with far more force.

They, well _Ruby,_ soon got tired and settled for sitting by the Cliffside and watching the sunset. It may have been a cliché ending to their day, but Ruby didn't care. This day was wonderful.

Ruby had rested her head on Penny's shoulder and enjoyed the feeling of Penny's hand brushing her hair, her ministrations feeling smooth against her scalp.

"Thanks for everything today Penny. I had a lot of fun today".

"You are welcome Ruby. I am glad we could have fun today".

"Yeah. To think that that I almost bailed out because of a silly little childhood fear", she considered with a giggle.

Penny placed her hand gently on Ruby's face, the brunette leaning into her touch in response.

"To be honest, I did not believe there was anything that could scare you Ruby. You are always so brave", she said in awe.

Ruby felt her cheeks heat up at the praise, but couldn't help but feel something wasn't right. Her feeling was backed up by Penny's ministrations coming to a halt.

"I wish I was brave", she said solemnly.

Ruby looked up at her girlfriend, shocked at her confession.

"Penny, what are you talking about? Of course you're brave! I saw you in action, you aren't even phased by hordes of Grimm".

Penny looked down at the ground.

"But that's not me being brave. You and everyone else is brave, because organics are meant to survive at all costs, yet you defy your instincts for…for each other. For what you care about".

" _I_ just fight because I was programmed to. Because…it's all I am. A weapon".

"Don't say that!", Ruby interjected, more forcefully than she'd intended, but she didn't care. There were things in this world she couldn't stand. Yang's puns, cookie shortage and at the very top, seeing Penny sad.

"You are not a weapon. You are not some mindless droid for one purpose. _You_ are Penny Polendina. You are smart. You are kind. You are-"

" _Property",_ Penny interrupted, downtrodden.

Ruby stopped.

She tried her best to look Penny in the eye, but the ginger girl refused.

"What?", Ruby asked, dumbfounded.

"I'm property Ruby. Atlas Military Property. That's all I am".

"Says who?", Ruby asked, at first rhetorical, but when Penny's expression gave her the impression someone _actually_ told her that, she needed to hear this bastard's name.

"Penny. Who told you this?"

Penny starting making nervous little whines and began twiddling her thumbs.

"I…I can't tell you. I don't want you to get in trouble".

Ruby placed both her hands on Penny's shoulders.

"Penny. You can tell me _anything._ Please", she pleaded, looking her deep in the eyes.

"I want to help you".

Penny nodded and looked down.

"Atlas High Command", she confessed.

"I…I wanted to leave. Wanted to go to Beacon. So I could…be with you. I made a request to be reassigned to Beacon so I could be closer to you, because I really, _really_ miss you. All the time".

"I never got a reply to my request, so I contacted one of the generals personally. She said…"

Penny looked absolutely crushed.

"She told me that I wasn't permitted to make decisions outside of assignments. That I am an asset of the Atlaesian Military and should be content with the freedoms I've been granted by Command. And that if I went against orders to remain in Atlas, that I could be replaced".

"And…she was right. I'm not a real girl. They built me and they can do what they want with me. And when they're done, a better model will replace me".

"But the worst part is that I just stood there. That's all I could do. I couldn't fight them. I'd be a "rouge asset" and terminated, because I'm not real and I have no rights. If it were you, you would've stopped them. But that's just it. You are brave. You stick up for yourself, because you are organic".

"I'm just a machine. I can't be brave. I'll always have limits to what I can do. Because I'm not real. I'm just…property".

Ruby was grinding her teeth in absolute, unadulterated rage. Her eyes had hot tears streaming down her face. Her fists were clenched so tight, she swore her nails were drawing blood.

 _Someone said this to Penny? MY Penny!? How DARE they say that to her! I'm going to-_

"Please don't be mad at me Ruby".

Ruby snapped out of her blood rage at the heart breaking plea from Penny.

"I'm sorry I wasn't brave enough to fight to see you again. I'm sorry I let you down".

Ruby's heart shattered in a thousand pieces.

She thought she was mad at _her?_

Ruby wasted no time in pulling Penny in a hug, rubbing her back in calming motions.

"Penny. You listen to me and you listen to me good, alright?"

Penny nodded timidly.

"I am not, nor do I ever see me being, mad at you. Ever. You are too precious to ever be mad at".

"I am mad, no scrap that, _furious,_ that someone said that crap to you and made you feel like that and thought they could get away with it".

"But they can-"

"No they can't! They won't! No one is taking you from me. And I don't care what they say, you are real!", she yelled, her breath shuddering.

The red clad Huntress cupped Penny's chin to look her in the eyes and relay her upmost sincerity.

"You're real and _mine"._

Penny gasped at Ruby's complete seriousness,

"They can build stronger, faster or whatever they think matter, machine, and I wouldn't give a damn, because you _can't_ be replaced. You have a place in my heart, they can never fill".

" _They_ see a weapon. _I_ see a girl. A girl with a heart that never beats but is bigger than anyone else on Remnant. They don't know you Penny. They don't get to say, who you are. Only you do".

She may not have been able to cry, but her wobbly smile and shivers said it all. Penny had begun to believe Ruby's words.

"Ruby…do you mean that?"

"Of course I do. You aren't property to _me_. You're everything to me. I _need_ you".

Penny embraced Ruby, shuddering into her girlfriend's shoulder, offering small gasps of, "Thank You"' here and there.

Ruby held on tight, as if letting her go would mean leaving her to those bastards.

Then she decided that _wasn't_ an option.

 _She's mine. They will never have her._

"Penny. You aren't going back to Atlas. You're staying with me", she said, no trace of hesitation.

Penny looked back at her frightened. "Ruby no, you can't! If they find out you're keeping me from them they'll charge you with treason! They'll-"

"What? What are they gonna do to me? Cause they can try it. They can charge me, break me and worse, and I'll be right here, next to you, laughing at them. I'll fight them with every bone in my body".

"I promise you Penny, they will not have you. I'm gonna fight for you Penny. You'll get to chose your own life. No more orders or assignments, just you".

Penny was still nervous. "B-but it won't just be you. They'll go after Yang. And your team, JNPR, everyone you love, just to stop you. I'm not worth all that pain".

Ruby sighed and though carefully about her words.

"Penny, do you remember what I said about risking everything you have to get the _really_ good rewards?"

Penny nodded.

"Well, this is one of those times where I need to risk everything. I have to. Not just because I think you're worth it".

"Because _we_ are worth it".

Ruby held her pinkie out. "Do _you_ think "we" are worth it?"

 **Calculating:** Risks of Ruby and all her friend's well-being weighed against relationship-

Penny stopped herself and looked back at Ruby's smiling face.

Ruby Rose. The fifteen year old girl who was going to take on the heads of the biggest military power in Remnant, putting all she held dear in jeopardy, for _her._

 **Calculation Aborted.**

 **Conclusion Reached.**

" _We" are definitely worth it._

Penny extended her pinkie and shook Ruby's hand, both girls giggling at the gesture.

"I will stand by you, Ruby Rose. And when whatever comes our way scares you, I _will_ be brave for you. For _us"._

"For us", Ruby parroted.

The two decided to celebrate and confirm their decision with a tender, loving kiss.

It was a promise, that no one would part them.

Except a corgi.

Ruby and Penny turned at the sound of a playful, "Bark" to their left.

Zwei had returned, with his ball.

The two looked at each other and fell down laughing.

"Good boy. I still can't believe you went so far just to get it back", Ruby said proudly.

"Well, no risk, no reward", Penny said, causing Ruby to turn back to her, smiling proudly.

"I understand now Ruby. Thank you".

"Anytime love".

Zwei started sniffing the air and began barking ecstatically.

"What's up boy?"

Penny looked off in the distance. "It would appear that Jaune is finished making the hot dogs".

Zwei began whining and Ruby felt her own stomach grumbling.

"We should probably go. Why did we have to go so high? All the best ones will be eaten by the time we get there", she lamented.

Penny had a mischievous smirk. "There is a faster route down", she said, nodding to the water.

Both girls were still in swimsuits and Zwei's yipping was proof enough he agreed to her plan if it meant getting hot dogs quicker.

The two stood up, holding hands and peering down into the waters below.

"Together?", Penny asked.

"Forever", Ruby confirmed smiling.

As two cheering girls and one corgi leapt off a rock cheering, Penny had learned a valuable lesson.

Though risk is dangerous, avoiding risk would've cost her even more.

She wasn't programmed to love Ruby. She chose her. Her heart chose Ruby.

And she'd chose their love over fear any day of the week.

" **The devotion of the greatest is to encounter risk and danger and play dice for death"-Nietzsche.**

 **Whew, two down, four to go. Always loved Nuts and Dolts. I hope I did the pairing justice.**

 **So, next up is a bit of Arkos for Chapter 3. For the sake of time, it may be shorter than this one, if that's alright with you lovely readers. Believe me, the last thing I want to do is fire out some second rate garbage, but I'm hoping to get this story finished before summer's over. I am by no means however rushing it, but I think I need to start prioritising, so the next chapter, if I can get my ass in gear, should be relatively soon.**

 **As always, feedback is very much appreciated. Areas of improvement are always good to highlight.**

 **Until next time, this is T-rex Marine saluting (with his tiny two fingered hand) you readers and wish you an awesome time and look forward to hearing from you again and please have a wonderful summer!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N** Oh Oh, we're half way there! Oh Oh, writing on a prayer! (I'll see myself out now).

But seriously, good to be back. I'm actually happy that I'm sticking with this. This chapter will be focused on Jaune and Pyrrha and takes place roughly an hour or so after the first two chapters, so basically, the barbecue that was mentioned before. As always, criticism is appreciated.

And now back to our feature presentation.

 **Patch, Beach (Barbecue Table)**

"Hot dogs are almost done. Need any help settin the table Pyr?", Jaune asked from the grill.

"Thank you Jaune. But I have this under control", Pyrrha smiled, stretching out her hand and using her semblance to pull the various utensils out of their containers and onto the tables.

"All done", she smiled, arms folded.

"Show off", Jaune teased.

In truth, he _loved_ it when Pyrrha showed off. She held herself back way too much, at least in his opinion. He knew she hated being seen as special or above someone else, but she really did deserve to be proud of her talents.

He was really pleased that Ruby and Yang invited his team over. Of course JNPR and RWBY had always been close, but it was still very generous of them. Plus, he secretly wanted to help Pyrrha relax and try to make amends for being an oblivious fool for so long.

Sure, she was happy now that they were finally Together-Together after the dance, but when Ren and Nora let slip just _how_ long he'd not noticed her feelings for him, he wanted to do something for her. One his "goofy gestures", so to speak.

But for now, dinner.

"Right. Everything's all set. You wanna call em?", Jaune asked.

Pyrrha chuckled. "I _think_ they know already", she smirked, pointing at the small crowd of hungry Huntsmen and Huntresses, charging at the dinner table.

"I must say Jaune, you are quite the chef", the amazon complimented.

"Well, I don't like to brag…", he said, Pyrrha rolling her eyes smiling. He _loved_ bragging. "But I'd say I've really outdone myself this time", he said, stepping towards the table, before Lady Luck decided to kick him back down a few notches once more as he tripped on the cooler, falling face first towards the sand.

Fortunately, another lady was there to help him, as Pyrrha caught him in her arms before he could hit the ground.

Their eyes locked onto each other and both smiled.

"Heh. Always there to catch me when I fall".

"Can't let my leader down, now can I?", she replied playfully.

And hand cupped her face and she leaned into the touch.

"You never let me down Pyrrha", he said sincerely.

The two were so tempted to just close the gap and kiss.

But then Yang happened.

"Whoa ho ho LadyKiller, at least wait til you get back to the tent for some, "private training" with the champ", the blonde bombshell hollered.

Jaune rolled his eyes playfully, whilst Pyrrha, who was smiling seemed to cast some kind of subtle death glare for ruining the moment.

Pyrrha helped her boyfriend back to his feet and together they joined the group at the table.

It didn't take long for everyone to start eating. Jaune, despite his improvements, was not the best combatant, but he could sure as hell whoop up a damned fine meal.

"Mmmm. This is delicious. You're just full of surprises, Vomit Boy", Yang teased/complimented.

"I paid you back for those shoes. When will you just drop it?", he sighed.

"When I get bored"

"Okay…Big Girl", he said smugly, wiping the cocky look off Yang's face.

"What the…you can't use that!"

"Yes he can", Neon said nonchalantly beside Yang. "I gave him permission to use that nickname".

"Why?!"

"Because I knew it would annoy you and you look really sexy when you get all "Flashy Eyed".

Yang just growled in defeat.

"I hate you", Yang muttered in defeat.

"And I love you for it", Neon giggled in victory.

"Don't worry Yang, I won't be using it too much, Jaune comforted.

"I hope so. _Your_ nicknames are irritating", Weiss added.

"Was Snow Angel really so bad?"

"Yes", everyone agreed.

"Okay, yes it was cringey, in hindsight. Still, good times".

"I suppose looking back on it is…nostalgic", Weiss agreed. She and Jaune had long since come to terms with their relationship. He had accepted she wasn't interested and had been a bit of a bother and Weiss accepted she may have been difficult. The two weren't exactly best friends, but it was a rather comfortable one.

"Besides, I believe it was your odd flirtations that brought you two together in the first place", Weiss pointed out.

"Yeah man, me and Neptune had a bet going when you'd finally score with Nikos-", Sun added, before being lightly elbowed by Blake. "I mean _got together_ with Pyrrha", he corrected.

"We're glad we could make your visit to Beacon more interesting", Pyrrha smiled, not minding Sun's more forward choice of words. "Speaking of Neptune-"

Sun sighed.

"It's the water. Him and beaches? They just don't mix. Sage and Scarlet decided to stay in Vacuo. Y'know, still livin up the single life. Still wish they were here".

"Yeah. Plus, we couldn't even get Team CVFY over", Yang said.

"Well Second Years do have greater demands and the Grimm won't slay themselves", Ren said.

Ruby poured herself another class of soda, not from the same jug Yang and Sun were drinking from, because she knew it was spiked, and stood up.

"It would've been great if we could all be here. But these next two weeks should be spent celebrating how far we've all come together", the little reaper said in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Here, here", Pyrrha concurred. "We've all faced great challenges, personal and otherwise. And we've all come out stronger for it. Some of us even came out of it with someone special by their side", she said, smiling warmly at Jaune, a gesture that was returned by the blonde knight.

Jaune raised his glass, "To sticking together through everything", he toasted.

"Cheers!", everyone agreed.

As they all went to sit back down, Jaune felt his Scroll began to ring.

"Hey, I just need to take this, I'll only be a minute", he excused himself going of somewhere private.

Pyrrha's eyes followed Jaune until he was out of sight, a small sigh escaping once her boyfriend had left the table.

"Daawww, the Champ's got Ruby's "Give me back my favourite toy" look", Yang teased.

"Hey!" Ruby pouted,

Pyrrha just giggled at the squabbling sisters and her own minor insecurities. She knew Jaune liked spending time with her. She just felt lonely when he wasn't by her side.

 _It is nice to be here with our friends. But I wish Jaune and I could have a nice moment to ourselves._

Ever since the vacation, though she and Jaune were now officially together-together, Pyrrha had just wanted some time alone between them that didn't involve ravenous Grimm beasts trying to bite their heads off. She was a tough warrior, but killing Grimm wasn't her idea of romantic.

Well, Nora would disagree, but if the whole "Lizard Queen" fiasco had taught them anything, it was probably best to avoid Nora's suggestions for entertainment.

Still, she was just glad to be with the people she loved without some crazy schemes happening.

Meanwhile, her blonde boyfriend was in the middle of a crazy scheme.

"Hey, did the package arrive? It did? Sweet! Hey, uh, thanks for this. What? Yeah I know I owe you for this and the transcripts now. Yes I _will_ call more often. Ok. Ok! OK! Geez, you're worse than Jenny! I'll tell you all about it when I get home, bye!"

Jaune groaned in frustration but smiled.

His surprise plan for Pyrrha was coming together.

Now all he needed to complete the night was the lovely lady herself, one Pyrrha Nikos.

 **Patch, Beach (The Jeep)**

Pyrrha lay on top of the jeep Yang "borrowed" from her dad to bring them here, gazing up into the night's sky and at all the stars that sparkled in the darkness.

For the red headed champion, this had been a habit since she was a child. Looking up to the stars, in search of hope.

Years ago, a much younger Pyrrha Nikos, who still had her gifts, had nothing that was truly _hers._

She was the toddler who got to watch all the other children play in the yard, while she learnt how to get into fighting stance.

The girl who wondered what it was like stay over at a friend's house for the night than stay at a practice arena for a week.

The teen who longed to go to the mall like all the other girls, instead of going to press conferences.

She was other things too back then. Like the little girl who cried herself to sleep at night, always wishing someone who _really_ loved her would sneak up beside her and tell her it would all be ok.

Of course that voice never came.

But in its absence, she had the stars. Wonderful, precious and out of her reach. Just like her dreams. She had wished time and time again that one day, she would find someone who would be there for her and loved her.

Not as the "Invincible Girl" but as Pyrrha Nikos. Just as herself.

Of course, that was a long time ago and much had changed since then. All of it for the better.

She heard footsteps approaching.

"Well, just got done calling the Patch Security Force. They said they won't press charges if we make sure Nora stays at least five hundred yards away from the pet store's reptile house".

"Well that's good news", Pyrrha sighed. Her energetic red headed friend had a bit of a tendency to attract the attention of the authorities when she was on her sugar rushes. She was certain she'd heard one officer mention, "Code Valkyrie" at least once.

Jaune hopped up on the jeep alongside her and place a hand on her shoulder, earning a blush from the young gladiator, which only grew deeper upon her stomach rumbling.

"Still hungry?", Jaune inquired.

"So it would seem". Jaune tossed her a pack of marshmallows.

"Wanna split it?", he offered with a smile.

Pyrrha loved that smile goofy smile of his. "I'd love to".

As Pyrrha began to take a few marshmallows into her hand, Jaune was preparing to execute stage two of his plan. Move Pyrrha into positon for the surprise.

"Mmm, these are good. Though, they taste a lot better when they're roasted".

"Really? I wouldn't know", Pyrrha replied.

"Well how about we-WHAT?!"

The conversation only went half according to plan. It should've been Jaune suggesting they go roast some marshmallows to move her to the surprise, but now he needed to get her there because what kind of person reaches the age of seventeen without ever roasting marshmallows!?

 _It's wrong Dust Dammit!_

"Jaune, are you okay?", Pyrrha asked, a little confused.

"Okay? Okay?! Pyrrha. I… _how_ have you never eaten roasted marshmallows? That's like, camping 101!"

Pyrrha lowered her head, her face slightly downtrodden. Jaune was worried he'd upset her, when it dawned on him.

"This…this is your first time camping. With friends I mean, not with family or…"

"No. Just my first. Period", Pyrrha interrupted.

Jaune was baffled and saddened at the same time.

 _My God. Has she ever been allowed to have fun? For once? Not even with her family?_

"Why not?"

Pyrrha scoffed. "My career. Same reason I never got to do anything I wanted. When I was in my teens I had personal trainers and coaches who made sure I ate exactly what I need to stay in shape. And I mean, _exactly._ No sneaky little chocolate bar hidden under the couch, no "just one cookie" from the tin when no one was looking. No…no cakes for special occasions, but that never bothered me, there was never much of a party once my training began. And of course, no fatty, sugary roasted marshmallows with friends who'd take up valuable training time", she said bitterly, a small tear brimming in her eye.

For those who knew Jaune, there are three things he cannot tolerate.

1: Motion sickness.

2: Bullies.

3: Pyrrha crying.

"Pyrrha, I'm your team leader right?"

Pyrrha looked up at him and nodded a little. Jaune then clambered up onto the roof of the jeep, striking an overly commanding pose and pointing at Pyrrha.

"Then by the authority I wield as Team JNPR's leader, Pyrrha Nikos, I hereby command you to go crazy with junk food and screw your crappy super soldier diet, which we shall tear down immediately, starting by consuming roasted marshmallows! Am I understood?", he pretend ordered, outstretching his hand.

Pyrrha giggled and took her blonde lover's hand, allowing him to pull her up on the roof with him.

 _How can he make me feel so happy so quickly?_

She didn't care how he did it. All that mattered, was that he did it and he did it for her. Not to say he wouldn't do it for anyone else. Indeed, Jaune would help any friend in need.

But when he did it for her, she liked to feel selfish and imagine she was special.

That he was all hers and she was all his.

"As you command, captain", she saluted with her free hand, as Jaune led her down the jeep and off towards a small area not too far from camp.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from afar through a pair of binoculars, chuckling at the sight of the couple.

The figure reached for their Scroll and contacted another party.

"Knight 2 to Knight 6, target is on the move. How goes activities at the LZ?"

"Roger that Knight 2, we are ready to move. ETA on target arrival?"

"Say again Knight 6?"

"What is their ETA, over?"

"Uhhhhh….say again?"

"Urgh! Dammit when will they get to the campfire Joan!?"

"CODENAMES! And they'll be there in ten minutes, _Knight 2,_ over".

"Uh, fine. Knight's 4,5 and 7 are with me to finish securing the perimeter. You take 1 and 6 and meet up with us".

"Roger that Knight 2. Operation: Dark Knight is a go".

Knight 2 put away her scroll mumbling.

"Why the hell did dad let her watch all those war movies?", she lamented on her cohort's love of codenames and secrecy.

 **Patch, Beach (Jaune's Surprise Location)**

It didn't take long for Jaune to start up a fire and gather some sticks to roast marshmallows. As soon as the squishy, sugary treats started to turn brown, Pyrrha got a taste of what she'd been missing out on for so long.

In all honesty, it wasn't even the taste she enjoyed, not that it was foul or anything like that. But it was the whole sensation of being in the outdoors, just the two of them together kept warm by a campfire and their own company, enjoying some sugary treats.

It was simple, yet so alien to her. The kind of scenario she could only dream of as a child. Sweet, simplistic fun.

"Hmmm, they certainly do taste better this way".

"See? What did I tell ya Pyr? Pfft, what kind of trainer doesn't appreciate the benefits of the occasional sugary treat now and then? If anything, Nora's living proof that it's a great motivator in battle".

The two chuckled.

"Yeah, I could've used some of that when I was younger".

"Well, luckily, I brought plenty…"

Pyrrha interrupted him with a chuckle, but it started to die down at the end. "No, not sugary treats, though I would still like some. I meant…I could have used some motivation when I was younger. _Real_ motivation".

Jaune's heart sank at the sight of Pyrrha looking down at the ground, visibly upset.

"I mean, sure, at first, I felt very motivated. It was just me and my mother when I was a child and I was eager to make our lives any bit easier than the years of scrounging we had to go through. But then, once my talent for combat emerged, once I got really good and we could live comfortably for the rest of our lives, there was no motivation. Just winning. Just being _perfect",_ spitting that last word out as if it were toxic.

Jaune moved over to be closer beside her.

"Well I mean, your mom must've been of some support, right? I mean, like you said, it was you two against the world at first…"

"At first, yes. But then…then we stopped being close. We talked less as the months went by, unless it had something to do with training. She pushed me into interviews and commercials instead of asking me were _I'd_ like to go. Suddenly, I didn't even see her as my mom anymore. And I know that sounds horrible but, it's true".

There was an unpleasant silence between them and Jaune opted to break it first.

"So, what happened to you two?", the knight inquired, obviously not expecting a happy ending to this tale from the sound of things.

Pyrrha gave out a sigh. "Beacon happened. I said I was leaving to become a Huntress. Which of course meant, no more fighting in tournaments. She was furious. Said I was being irresponsible, throwing my life away for "Fairy Tales" instead of doing my job. But I had done my "job" for long enough. I wanted more. I wanted a life. She told me she wouldn't be there when it all "blew up" in my face and…and I told her I hated her. For all the missed birthdays, for every night she wasn't there to tuck me in and for using me. The worst part is, I actually think I meant it. And I wish I didn't".

Her eyes began to water a little, prompting Jaune to put an arm over her shoulder, making her smile a little.

"You fought for your right to be who you choose to be. She was wrong to try and control you".

"The sad thing is, I don't even think it was about the money or the fame. I think she really thought being the "Invincible Girl" was the best thing for me. But I was tired of being treated like I was different".

Jaune chuckled. "I can relate to that".

Pyrrha looked at him curiously.

"When I was ten, got my ass kicked all the time at school. It wasn't so bad, I mean my pride was usually sorer than my body. But…nah its stupid forget…"

"Jaune", Pyrrha insisted, looking at him. She knew he'd listen to anything she had to say if it would help her. She wasn't about to let him blot her out when she could offer support.

Jaune seemed to appreciate this, causing both of them to smile as he continued.

"My sisters always showed up to save my hide. Eventually, people stopped messing with me".

"Well that is certainly good to hear. Yet…you do not sound as if this fixed your problem".

"You got that right. It sucked when they beat me up but when my sisters saved me, it was worse. Everyone _pitied_ me. And I…I really fucking hated it Pyr. It was embarrassing to need protecting every day of your life and the fact that five of my sisters are younger than me, just made me seem even more pathetic. And what's worse is I _know_ how much of a dick I sound. I love my sisters, all of them. I'll never stop loving them and I'm glad they protected me but I just wanted to be the one who saved the day. I wanted to be the hero in the stories my father told me. Not the damsel in distress".

"I wanted to stop being-"

"Different?"

Jaune looked right at Pyrrha, who'd taken the word right out of his mouth. And in that moment, he saw in her a girl who spent her whole life away from everyone, wishing to climb down from the pedestal they raised her on. And in Jaune, Pyrrha saw a little boy tired of being the lowest of the low, looking up at everyone, who just wanted to rise up and prove he wasn't what they said he was.

It felt like looking into a mirror. Two stories, different but the same. Two outsiders wanting leave the cages the world had put them in.

Two tormented souls that had found salvation in each other.

It was after a moment of silence, their hands moved closer to each other.

They pulled each other into a hug, both of them smiling, thankful the other was there for them.

"Thanks" both said at the same time, making each other laugh.

"Really, thank you Jaune. This was nice".

"Heh heh. Well, ya see, funny thing is, I actually brought you here to thank _you",_ the blonde knight responded, surprising the Spartan girl.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I wanted to thank you for everything. For training me, for forgiving me, for being my friend and…for giving an oblivious jackass a chance".

"Jaune…"

"Ah ah ah, no you don't missy, don't try and make me feel better about it", Jaune interrupted, jokingly of course. Looking back on his past infatuation with Weiss and overlooking Pyrrha's painfully obvious interest in him was a great shame to the Arc lad.

"I actually had this whole, big speech written out but…swimming trunks", he confessed, making the redhead laugh at his clumsiness, which she actually found quite endearing.

"So instead I'll just go with whatever my head comes up with", he said, clearing his throat. "Pyrrha, you are the best thing that's ever happened to me. But one thing I wish you'd stop doing is saying you're sorry. If any one of the two of us should be saying that, it's me. You've been, everything I could've wanted from a partner, a friend and a lover. And I've...come up short far too many times. So I'm sorry. For turning you down at the rooftop, for hurting your feelings without noticing and anything else I'm too goddamned dense to notice. I never meant to hurt you Pyrrha. I only want you to be happy".

Pyrrha was visibly elated at Jaune's improvised apology/declaration of love and stood up to pull Jaune into a tender loving kiss, which he reciprocated.

"Jaune, that was very thoughtful. But there's no need for an apology. We've already come so far since then. You've made me feel like a normal girl and treated me like a true friend, not some idol. You care about me, the _real_ me. And for that, you will always have my heart", she promised.

"So you don't need to do any grand goofy gestures to prove that you care about me. I've always known that".

"Too bad, I'm doing one anyway!", Jaune said with a grin, shocking Pyrrha, as two loudspeakers appeared from behind the grass.

"What the…how in…"

"Yeah, remember my sisters? Well I called in a few favours and they agreed to help me set up this little surprise".

"How did they-"

"I stopped questioning what they were capable of when I was nine. My family likes being…let's call them unique. But anyway. Pyrrha that night at the dance was when I learned that you were the one. That you were always the one. I should've asked you to the dance the minute I got the chance. So, just because you deserve it", he gestured his hand out to her as a very familiar song played on the speakers.

Pyrrha covered her mouth with her hands as a surprised squeak escaped her.

It was _their_ song, "Shine".

"And if I've made you feel like a "normal girl", then I have been doing you one hell of a disservice. I know you aren't invincible but dammit you are special to me Pyrrha. And I won't have you go one day without reminding you of just how much you mean to me".

Pyrrha smiled from ear to ear. She had long grown tired of the continuous praise for her expertise in battle, but she had absolutely _no problem_ whatsoever with Jaune making her feel loved for the rest of her life.

"So, m'lady Pyrrha Nikos", he said overdramatically, making the redhead giggle.

"Will you let a goofball make up for being blind for a whole damned year?"

Pyrrha's heart skipped two beats then went into overdrive.

"Yes!", she cheered, taking his hand, only to be pulled into his embrace, causing her to gasp but elated her even further.

"Well then, let's dance".

The two then proceeded to dance under the stars and, in the glow of the fire, moving in tune with the music, their eyes never leaving each other's, as emerald eyes lost themselves in pools of sapphire.

Pyrrha had lost all track of time. She let herself become lost in the sheer bliss of this moment, as her dashing knight held her hand and in one of his and her waist in the other.

The song finally ended, with Jaune holding Pyrrha as she leaned into his arms, breathing heavily, as happy as she'd ever been since entering Beacon.

"That was…magical", she breathed out, making Jaune smile that she was so happy.

 _I'd do anything to see that smile._

"So you have a good time, Pyr?"

Pyrrha smirked. "Hmmm, it was lovely, but I do miss the sight of you in a dress".

Jaune chuckled. "Only for you Pyr. But only on special occasions!", he swiftly added, his cheeks turning a little red at the very real fear she'd abuse that power. His girlfriend gave out a lovely giggle as Jaune became flustered.

"So, feeling better Pyrrha?"

"Much better. Thank you Jaune", she said, as the two drew closer, eyes closed, lips just about to meet…

Then Jaune's Scroll went off.

Both growled in frustration, murderous intent stirring on whoever the hell dared to interrupt their moment.

With a sigh, Jaune answered the call, putting it on speaker and smiling upon seeing the caller ID.

"Sup Joan?"

"CODENAMES!", shrieked a young girl.

"Oh hush up Joan, we can drop the act now", a more mature sounding women spoke up.

"Jaune…", Pyrrha asked, curious.

"Oh, how rude of me. Pyrrha, say hello to my sisters. Joanne, Jenny, Julie, Jackie, Jasmine, Jade and Joan".

"Oh um, hello there", Pyrrha waved to the seven blonde girls of varying ages displayed on the Scroll screen.

And at that, all seven Arc sisters squealed.

"Oh my God, Jaune she is gorgeous!"

"Always knew you'd bag a keeper".

"Mom is gonna love her!"

"Oh your kids are gonna be so cute!"

Pyrrha's face was the same colour as her hair at that last comment from Jenny, but she couldn't deny she was a little giddy at the idea of her and Jaune starting a family.

"OK girls, let my girlfriend breathe, please", Jaune chuckled, as he turned back to Pyrrha, holding her hands.

"My sister's teasing aside, they're in the general direction of what I'm asking you", he said, a very serious tone in his voice.

"Pyrrha, I love you. It took me a while to realise that…"

"You never were that sharp to be honest", Jasmine butted in, receiving and elbow from both Joan and Jenny for interrupting.

"But now that I know, I also know you're scared. That, you're afraid of being alone again. That one day you'll wake up and you'll just be that "different" kid alone in their room wishing they had someone. I know this, because I'm scared too", he said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"But we don't have to be afraid. I have you and you have me. You'll never be alone, ever again. I guess what I'm saying is…would you like to…I mean do you think we could…"

"Oh for God's sake kiss already!", all seven sisters screeched.

Jaune shot them a frustrated glare but turned back to Pyrrha, who was smiling with a hopeful glint in her eyes.

"OK. Pyrrha, would you like to be my partner, for the rest of our lives?"

Pyrrha didn't even need a second to think and just glomped the boy, saying "Yes!" over and over again.

Jaune's sisters were either cheering or claiming they just had something in their eyes.

"So does this mean they're engaged?", Joan asked.

"Maybe?", Jasmine replied confused.

"I'm gonna be an auntie!", Jenny cheered.

The knight and the amazon didn't hear a word the sisters were saying, too busy hugging each other tightly, reassuring the other that they were still here. That they'd always be like this.

Together-Together.

Their noses touched as their eyes, watery and full of joy locked onto one another. Their lips were so close to meeting.

Until…

"WAIT!", Joan interrupted.

"Urhg!", the couple groaned, now having been interrupted twice by the blonde sisters.

"We have one more surprise. Uncle Felix smuggled it in from his army buddies".

"What!? Joan, what did mom tell you about talking to Uncle Felix?", Jaune yelled.

"He said it would be fun. Plus this is gonna look soooooo cute! OK. Kiss in three. Two…"

"As Jaune and Pyrrha finally kissed a loud screech went up into the air, followed by an explosion.

The couple parted to see a series of fireworks launch, the largest one exploding to form a fiery image of Jaune and Pyrrha's symbols together.

Jaune sniggered to himself, once again amazed at his sister's resourcefulness, while Pyrrha was so happy, she thought her heart might burst out of her chest.

 _Best night ever._

"Tell me you got that!" Jenny screeched.

"Oh I got it. Sending it to the happy couple now", Joan said victoriously.

You two have a good night. Jaune, we're all proud of you. Pyrrha, you _will_ visit someday so I can meet my future sister in law and we should really go now", Jenny stated.

"Aww, do you really have to leave?" Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, some of the stuff in those fireworks were…military grade explosives. Uncle Felix said the army would be monitoring this channel and if mom finds out we listened to him she'll kill us!"

Jaune just sighed at his sister's antics.

"Well, see you guys later. Tell mom and dad I said hi".

"By you two!", the sisters waved before the screen went blank.

Pyrrha giggled at the eccentric girls who would one day be her future in-laws.

"Will they be alright?"

"One Christmas, they hacked into the Atleasian Security Grid just to see if they could find Santa Claus and got away with it. They'll be fine".

Pyrrha wrapped her arms around Jaune's neck, kissing him with great passion, thrilled that her lover responded in kind.

 **2 Hours Later.**

Pyrrha and Jaune enjoyed the campfire for a little longer, until it began to die down.

Jaune turned to see she was sleeping. He would've woken her up, but she just looked so damn peaceful, he couldn't find it in him to do it. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her back to their tent, where he laid her gently to rest.

He was about to go for a short walk, when he felt a sudden tug at his arm. Glancing back, was a semi-conscious Pyrrha holding his arm.

"Jaune, please stay with me?", she pleaded.

There was no way Jaune was going to say no to that, as he brushed her hair and kissed her cheek, lying beside her, pulling her into his loving embrace and she buried her face into the crook of his neck.

Everything about this felt right. Like it was meant to be.

"Jaune? Do you believe in destiny?"

"Nah, it kinda think it's a bunch of bull".

"Oh. Okay", Pyrrha said with a shrug and a smile, not caring if it was fate or chance that brought them together. She was just happy they were by each other's side.

As her eyes grew heavy, she pull her Scroll from her back pack that she'd set in the tent to open a picture sent by Joan.

It was her and Jaune, kissing with their joined symbols in firework form behind them.

She let that image flood her thoughts as she drifted off into slumber.

And as the two lovers slept, a single, brilliant star shot across the night's sky as two lonely children's wish for a friend had finally come true.

" **There is no fate, but what me make for ourselves"-Sarah Conner**

 **Alrighty. Honesty time. I'm not going to sugar coat it. I really wanna finish this story. But I am really worried about throwing out rushed work just for the sake of a summer theme. If it comes across as half assed, I would really like you to let me know and I'd take more time writing, even if it takes me into September.**

 **Also, special shout out to everyone still following this story. You guys keep me going. Well, you and the insane sugar rush I usually end up writing these stories on.**

 **So, tune in next time for a bit of…ReNora? Sloth? I really don't know what this one is called, but yeah next Chapter is a Ren X Nora one because reasons.**

 **Until next time, this is T-rex Marine saluting (with his tiny two fingered hand) you readers and wish you an awesome time and look forward to hearing from you again and please have a wonderful summer!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Patch, Beach (Barbeque Table)**

When people see Ren and Nora, a question pops into their heads.

 _How on Remnant does he put up with her?_

It was a question Ren had put towards him more times than he cared to count.

This was not to say people did not like his bubbly companion. Indeed most people that knew the energetic red head would say that Nora Valkyrie was one of the friendliest people you could ever meet.

Her tendencies for destruction however, led to most people limiting their interactions with her.

Nora's idea of fun was one on the extreme end of the spectrum and Ren was all too experienced as to how far the pancake loving girl would go for the sake of a good time. And thanks to the fact he didn't chain the syrup containers enough, he could chalk up the, now infamous "Lizard Queen" incident that had occurred today, to Nora's ever growing list of bizarre activities.

The whole ordeal, which involved a high speed police chase, over three dozen escaped reptiles and a commandeered ice cream truck, had left the young man quite tired. As he sat by the picnic table, having offered to help clean up in Pyrrha's place, Jaune having told him of his plan, he put away the last of the dishes and yawned, the stress of the day's events having taken their toll on him.

"Hey man", a familiar voice called out, as Ren turned to see his leader and "brother he never knew he had", Jaune Arc.

Despite Ren's lack of interaction, he really did see the blonde boy as a brother figure. A clumsy, dense but loyal and brave brother.

"Hello Jaune", Ren greeted. "I take it everything went well with Pyrrha?"

"Yup. Just about managed to wriggle out. Turns out Pyrrha Nikos is a very powerful sleep-cuddler. She could probably squeeze the life out of an Ursa Major!"

Ren merely rolled his eyes and smiled.

"Thanks for taking care of the dishes".

"It's fine. After all, you helped me earlier when…"

"Ren can we please not talk about it? I'm still checking my hoodie for geckos! How did she even find so many, it's like she was calling them to her".

Ren sighed, prompting Jaune to place a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, it's no big deal Ren. You gotta remember, this is the same place that had to deal with kid versions of Ruby and Yang. This town is probably used to hyperactive kids going on a rampage".

"I know. I just don't want Nora to get in trouble".

"Heh. I'm pretty sure _trouble_ is Nora's middle name".

"It's actually SlothQueen".

"…How?"

"We don't have _nearly_ enough time to talk about _that_ tonight".

Jaune smiled and nodded. "Well, I've got a beautiful redhead to get back to before she wakes up. Just needed to feel my ribs again is all. You should probably get some rest too. Remember, this was just day one. We still got thirteen more days of Beacon Crew madness to get through".

Ren smirked and nodded.

"Goodnight Jaune", he waved as his friend returned to his tent.

Feeling his own eyelids grow heavy, the young ninja decided, perhaps sleep wasn't a bad idea and made his way to his own tent.

Upon his arrival, he pulled down the zipper, granting him entry and was preparing to make himself comfortable when he noticed something.

Or rather a _lack_ of something.

 _Nora._

Ren sighed, knowing full well an unattended Nora in the middle of the night could lead to Dust knows what kind of disasters and decided retrieving his wayward partner took priority over his own fatigue.

He stood back up and began to search for Nora. Luckily, the sand left a trail of footprints that made her very easy to find.

 _She's only been gone for a while. Maybe I'm worry over nothing._

He then recalled not seeing Magnhild in their tent either and suddenly increased his pace.

 _Or, maybe not._

 **15 Minutes Later**

Ren followed Nora's sand tracks, leading him to a large mass of rocks at the shore.

He clambered on top of the rocks and resumed his search for his partner, hoping to find her before…well before _anything_ happened.

He kept his ears open for any explosions or cheering, but to his great surprise, no sudden loud noises occurred. In fact, the night was quite peaceful. The gentle breeze felt cool against his skin and the shine of the shattered moon had made the beach look so much more serene than it appeared during daylight.

Yes the night was quite peaceful.

 _Far_ too peaceful for a night with Nora Valkyrie on the loose with her weapon no less.

Ren was admittedly getting worried. The thought of something bad happening to Nora was one he did not wish to entertain. As strong and tough as the young ginger haired girl was, people tended to forget she was human. Ren may give the appearance of always being calm, but every time Nora did something like ride an Ursa into battle or launch herself across a canyon because she "saw something shiny on the other side", Ren's heart was beating like a drum.

Granted, experience had allowed him to cope with _most_ of her antics, but even still, Nora was a woman of many surprises.

He knew he could never ask Nora to stop being who she was, but he still wished she would consider caution more often, more for her sake than his.

She was his best friend and he would be crushed if he lost her.

He stopped and scoffed.

"Best friend". Just friends. Never "Together-Together", a statement he had repeated more times than he could count, and never truly believed.

Nora may be reckless, but she had no fear. Ren on the other hand scolded himself for lacking the drive to tell her the truth.

 _She may be reckless, but that's far better than being a coward. Why can't I just tell her?_

As Ren pondered his relationship with Nora, he finally spotted the girl herself.

To his surprise, she wasn't jumping about with her hammer or fighting some giant beast. She was just sitting down on one of the rocks, hammer in hand, overlooking the shore, as if observing something in particular.

Ren decided to investigate and made his way towards her, slowly so as not to disturb her from whatever she was watching. He was now only two feet away from her and decided to alert her to his presence.

"Nora?", he called softly.

Nora turned her head and smiled brightly, relaxing Ren a little, seeing she wasn't hurt as he'd feared. Yet, this situation still seemed strange.

"Hiya Ren", she called back sweetly. "You out for a walk too?"

"Um, no. I noticed you weren't at the tent and decided to go looking for you".

"Oh. Sorry Ren, I forgot I didn't tell you that I was going for a little walk. Didn't mean to get ya worried".

Ren smiled. "It's alright. It's a lovely night tonight anyway".

"Yeah, sure is", Nora concurred, being awfully calmer than usual.

She moved over a little, offering Ren a place beside her. Accepting her offer, Ren sat beside his partner, putting an arm around her, letting her rest her head on his shoulder, humming in content at the warmth of his skin against hers.

"Um, Nora?"

"Yes Ren?"

"What were you doing out here before I arrived".

Nora's eyes shot open and a wide grin flashed across her face.

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you _that_ part either. It's really cool, well most of it's cool, some it's not, but I'm going of track, and I should really concentrate on-"

"Nora?"

"Yes Ren?"

"Breathe", the boy advised.

Nora took a deep breath and then returned to telling her story.

"So, I saw the big fireworks in the sky and wanted to get a better view, so I came here. Then, once they died down, I was getting ready to head back to the tent site and then I saw a sea turtle!"

Ren sighed.

 _Terrific. More reptiles._

"She was huge Ren! She dragged herself on the shore and started laying eggs. Then she left and swam back into the waves. So I sat here a little longer and then, one by one, cute little turtles started coming out of their shells and went into the water. It was adorable Ren".

She pointed to a series of trails that led off into the ocean.

"I was gonna go back to the tents, when I saw him".

" _Him?_ ", Ren parroted, confused.

Nora pointed again, this time towards a small, baby sea turtle that apparently couldn't keep up with his siblings. Upon closer inspection, Ren noticed one of his flippers was much smaller than what it was supposed to be, which explained why it took so long for him to catch up.

Ren couldn't help but feel for the poor thing. It was really trying it's hardest to make it into the waters and catch up with his family.

"I just wanted to make sure someone was there to look out for him", Nora said, her voice a little softer this time.

Ren smiled proudly, impressed by her endless amount of compassion for small animals. Even as a little girl, she had a fondness for animals in need. She'd once caused a pile up because a car nearly hit a hedgehog she thought looked cute.

Suddenly, the sound of flapping wings approached and from the skies descended four hungry looking gulls. They had spotted the baby sea turtle and believed it to be a chance to get an easy meal.

The young reptile couldn't retreat properly and wound up being flipped on its shell by the hungry birds, readying to feast on the small turtle with ease.

They would've too, if it were not for one factor.

 _This_ turtle was now under the protection of a very cross Nora Valkyrie. And she had a very big hammer.

"Leave him alone you mean sea turkeys!", she roared, swinging her hammer and in one mighty blow, sent all four gulls into the air so fast, Ren was convinced she broke the sound barrier as they disappeared from sight.

As Nora's bloodlust faded, she returned her attention to the baby turtle.

She knelt down to flip him back onto his flippers, a gesture he seemed to appreciate as he rubbed his tiny head against her thumb.

"It's okay little buddy. Auntie Nora's gonna look after you", Nora cooed, scooping him up in her hand and pulling him to her chest.

Ren, ever the onlooker to Nora's antics, was impressed by how she managed to switch from battle ready and bloodthirsty, to nurturing so quickly.

He hopped off the rock he was sitting on and made his way to Nora, who was currently tickling the baby turtle.

"See Renny? He's safe!", she cheered, having successfully prevented her new friend from becoming dinner for some hungry birds.

"That's very good Nora, but you know you have to let him go now".

Nora's expression changed to one of hesitation, holding the little reptile closer to her chest protectively.

"Nora…", Ren said.

"I…I don't wanna leave him alone…", the ginger haired girl all but whispered, causing Ren to change his composure from stern to comforting.

"Nora…he belongs in the water. You've already done a great job protecting him, but he needs to go home. He needs to go back to his own family…"

"They left him!"

Ren stepped back a little at her outburst.

Why did this turtle mean so much to her? Then he considered, maybe it wasn't just the reptile she was upset about.

"Nora?"

"They left him. His brothers, his sisters, they saw him and they just kept moving. His...whole family just left him".

"Well, he was slower than the rest. I know it's harsh but it's only natural. The healthier ones tend to leave behind the less…"

Ren stopped as he heard Nora whimpering. He looked into her eyes and his heart shattered as they shone with tears, little hiccups escaping.

"Yeah. They just leave the ones who are just a problem to them, don't they".

Ren was about to answer, when it hit him. Hard.

 _Oh Lie Ren, you stupid, dense bastard! How could you not have seen it!?_

Nora wasn't just fascinated about this one turtle because it was a cute sea creature. In this little creature, she saw herself when she was a child.

Nora and Ren had met each other in an orphanage. Ren had never spoken more than a sentence to anyone before meeting her. The other kids weren't horrible, they just never pestered him. In truth, he felt a little lonely, despite enjoying his silent time.

Then he met Nora, and "silence" became a thing of the past. And he never regretted it.

Neither of them had any family, but there was one horrible difference between them as to why that was the case. Ren's family, died in an unfortunate accident, when he was very little.

Nora's _abandoned_ her.

She'd been passed around from orphanage to orphanage, always being labelled a "problem child" for her hyper behaviour. When they both feared she'd be moved again, they ran away together, just because Ren refused for her to be alone again.

Even as a child he thought it was cruel.

A beautiful, sweet, kind girl, left behind by her own flesh and blood one day, because she was, "too much of a problem to deal with".

Nora's constant outward optimism may fool anyone, but Ren knew her better than anyone else. He was there with her the nights she cried in her sleep, still calling for her parents. The days in the orphanage she'd look out the window to see if they'd ever change their minds and come back for her. The various times she'd ask if there was a way to "fix" her problem.

Even though he never met them, Ren _hated_ Nora's parents for what they did to her. For making her think it was _her_ fault for being such crappy parents.

And he now felt like a colossal prick for saying it was, "only natural", for the problem ones to be left behind.

Determined to salvage the situation, he pulled her into a hug, letting her cry into his shoulder.

"I-I-I'm not c-c-crazy Ren. I know e-e-everyone says I am, but I'm not! I d-don't know why I do the things I do. I didn't wanna hurt anyone. I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, Nora", Ren soothed.

"W-why am I so weird, Ren? Why do I keep doing these things? M-maybe they were right", she said, looking at the deformed turtle. "Maybe I was just supposed to be left behind and not be a problem to anyone else…"

"Stop", Ren ordered, anger and hurt in his voice, as Nora looked up to see tears in his eyes also.

" _You,_ are the best thing that's ever happened to me Nora. You think I care about all the mayhem that happens? I mean, sure it can go a little far sometimes, but I never have nearly as much fun without it! You have this, this energy, this spark that mystifies me. What you have, isn't a _problem_ up here", he said, tapping her on the head.

"It's a _gift_ in here", he said, placing his hand on her chest, feeling her heartbeat.

"You always manage to bring out the best in people, no matter how bad things may get. And…if it wasn't for you, I'd have nothing. No-one. You're not a burden to me Nora. You never will be".

Nora once more buried her face into Ren's shoulder, as he rubbed her back, calming her down.

Once she'd finally finished, she smiled, causing Ren to smile too.

"Thank you Ren. You're the best", she said, sounding genuinely happy again.

Ren nodded and hugged her.

"I promise, I'll try not to get you into trouble because of me as often".

"Don't change too much Nora. I can't have my Queen of the Castle losing her flair for adventure anytime soon", he joked, Booping her on the nose, causing her to giggle.

Nora yawned. "I'm sleepy. Let's go back to the tents.

Ren let her walk past him, then folded his arms.

"Nora…", he said sternly.

"Yes?"

"Put him back", Ren said, rolling his eyes in amusement.

Nora sighed, hoping in futility that Ren would've forgotten about her scaly friend.

She did as she was told, lowering him slowly and holding him in the waters so he could get his bearings and have a decent head start.

"So long little guy", she said as she let him go. The little reptile's deformity caused him to falter at first, but soon, he swam of into the darker parts of the ocean, finally able to continue his birth migration that nature would've denied him, had it not been for one bubbly Huntress.

"Well done Nora", Ren congratulated, as he took his partner's hand and walked back to the tents.

 **Patch, Beach (Tent Area)**

It actually didn't take long for Nora to go to sleep. It probably shouldn't have been a surprise because of the amount of energy she burnt off in her antics, but still, the sight of her actually getting tired was truly incredible.

Ren smiled as she unconsciously held him in her sleep, much like a sloth and mumble things about pancakes and turtles.

He placed a hand on hers, closing his eyes, enjoying the comfortable moment he was sharing between himself and his lovable, destructive, infinitely kind partner.

One day, he'd be brave enough to tell her how much she _really_ meant to him and they could finally be Together-Together, like he'd always dreamed about.

When people see Ren and Nora, a question pops into their heads.

 _How on Remnant does he put up with her?_

It was a question Ren had put towards him more times than he cared to count.

And it was one, he always answered, with another question.

 _How on Remnant would I live without her?_

 **Chorus, Armonia (Many Lightyears From Remnant)**

Three soldiers, each wearing either orange, maroon or aqua coloured armour, were bickering.

"I can't believe there's no second helpings! This is bullshit!", Griff whined.

"We're running out of everything here, dumbass. We aren't giving up valuable resources just to fuel your eating disorder", Simmons reinforced.

"Sooooo hungry", Griff continued to whine.

"Urgh, Tucker, help me out here?"

"Look Griff, I know it sucks. I mean, I wish there was more meat being slapped on the plate, bow-chicka-bow-wow, but we just don't have any. I mean, it's not like it's just gonna fall outta the fuckin sky, right?"

Just then, four well roasted birds landed through the roof and straight onto the dinner table.

"Ho. Ly. Fuck", Tucker enunciated.

"How in the hell?", Simmons breathed flabbergasted.

"THERE IS A GOD!" Griff cheered.

The three soldiers decided not to question why four well roasted birds just landed straight onto the table from the sky and ate up.

 **Now Marine, why the hell did you break story to do a brief RvB moment? Because this was a Nora chapter, and literally anything can happen when that girl is involved. Plus, I too dream one day a well-cooked bird will land out of nowhere onto my plate. (Looks up hopefully) Someday.**

 **Anyways, back to brass tacks. I will probably be extending this into September, it could happen or it might not, but it's just so I don't rush things. I swear on all my scales it won't be discontinued, I just don't like rushing things. The summer theme will remain though.**

 **As for this chapter, not so sure how it turned out. I really never written much about either Ren or Nora, so this was pretty much an experiment for me. If there's anything you think I could improve upon, please let me know.**

 **Now then, next up on Six Summer Snippets, we say goodbye to the Beacon Crew and we take a look at another pairing. One less heroic. Why you could even say they're downright criminal. Yes boys and girls, we take a little look Roman and Neo, the criminal couple of the century.**

 **And of course, that means we're a little closer to the poor sod I'm going to go George RR Martin on.**

 **Until next time, this is T-rex Marine saluting (with his tiny two fingered hand) you readers and wish you an awesome time and look forward to hearing from you again and please have a wonderful summer!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N** So, we've come to the final romance story. Sorry about the frequent periods of delay, but my own affairs outside of these stories usually kept me occupied.

I hope you've enjoyed it so far, seeing as it's coming to the end.

Once more, for clarity, this chapter takes place a day after the others did.

Also, in this story, Neo is a grown woman, she's just small. She and Roman are about the same age, with Roman just being a bit older.

 **Patch, Beach (Not too far from the Beacon Crew's camp site)**

Throughout the world, it is widely known that there is one sound that shatters any peaceful environment.

A sound that sends children running and screaming and incites chaos.

That sound, is none other, than the sound of the Ice Cream man's van.

And two sisters were immediately entranced by that sound.

"ICE CREAM!", Yang and Ruby cheered. They were making great haste as they knew a certain short red head wouldn't be far behind and that if she got there first, she'd most likely clean out the van of all their favourite flavours.

"C'mon Yang, we're almost there!"

"Huff…Not everyone….huff….Has speed….As a Semblance", Yang wheezed between gasps.

"But we're almost there Ya-", Ruby was cut short as she hit something soft and fell face first, whatever she hit cushioning her fall.

She opened her eyes to realise she'd just bumped into a little blonde girl with blonde pigtails and blue eyes. She was wearing a white sundress and sandals and seemed quite surprised and a little frightened.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there! Are you OK?", Ruby whined apologetically.

The girl seemed to relax and smiled, nodding to confirm she was OK. Yang soon arrived behind her sister.

"Sorry, she didn't mean any harm, she just gets excited", Yang defended, but noticed she didn't have to put up much of a defence for her little sister as the girl didn't seem to hold a grudge.

"Here, let me make it up to you. Wanna an ice cream? It's on me", Ruby offered.

The girl had a wide smile at this offer.

"Great! Oh, introductions, right, my name's Ruby. This is Yang", Ruby said, gesturing to her sister.

"Nice to meet you", Yang greeted, outstretching her hand, only to be surprised at how strong the little girl's grip was.

"Wow! For a little kid, you've got one hell of a grip". The girl smirked at this.

"So what's your name?", Ruby asked, to which the girl just nervously looked around.

"Aww, she's shy".

"Yang, don't tease her! It's OK, we're friendly. I mean, I _did_ bump into earlier, but I swear we don't always do that! Well….OK we do, but it's never out of badness and it's almost always an accident and…"

"Ahem", a new voice interrupted Ruby's babbling.

All three girls peered up to see a very amused ice cream man looking down on them, arms folded and a smug expression on his face.

"And what can I do for you lovely ladies today?", he asked.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh, I know! Strawberry with marshmallows please!", Ruby pleaded.

"Just vanilla with a few sprinkles please", Yang asked.

Ruby turned to her new friend, "So what would you like, friend?"

The girl pointed at one of the pictures on the truck, a neopolation ice cream. Ruby nodded and made the order for her silent friend.

Yang paid for all three ice creams and the man handed them their treats.

"Mmmm. Nothing beats the stuff they make here. The city really focuses too much on quantity", Ruby said.

"Yeah. I guess you could say, there no _taste_ like home? Eh?", Yang smiled, causing Ruby to groan and the short girl to roll her eyes at the comment.

The girl looked to her watch and turned to leave, waving the Patch sisters goodbye as she strolled off.

"Goodbye!", Ruby called out as she went off.

Yang waved, but looked puzzled. Ruby noticed her sister's look.

"You OK sis?"

"Yeah it's just…didn't she seem a _little_ young to be out on her own getting ice cream?"

"Yang, it's Patch. We used to run off from mom and dad all the time to get ice cream".

"Yeah, dad almost had a heart a attack. And, you know, _did,_ at one point. Still…", Yang said, still looking at the girl walking off.

"Something about her seemed so familiar".

"It's probably the pigtails. Lots of girls have them here, remember?"

"Yeah, cus I started the trend", Yang declared proudly, causing Ruby to giggle.

"Come on, I promised Penny I'd show her around town. You wanna come".

"Yeah. Sure", Yang said.

She was more than happy to walk around her childhood town with her sister and her girlfriend, but she'd be lying if she'd said she didn't feel a little uneasy.

 _Call me paranoid, but when that girl rolled her eyes at my pun. I swear they changed colour._

 **Patch, Beach (Docks)**

The blonde girl from earlier had managed to lose the sisters and make her way to the docks. She'd just finished her ice cream and was currently leaning on a boat, waiting for someone.

Suddenly, a cane hooked itself around her neck and she was yanked into the boat, where a gloved hand pinned her against the hull.

She looked up to see a ginger haired man in a suit, wearing a bowler hat with a feather in it, smiling at her.

"Lost little girl?", he chuckled in mock sympathy.

The girl scowled throwing a punch with one hand, only for him to catch it, as he did the other.

She was pulled up right towards his face, as she continued to scowl, until she gave a silent chuckle and grinned mischievously, before kissing him deeply, to which he responded by kissing her back.

As they kissed, the girl's appearance changed in a flash of white. Her eyes were no longer blue, rather one was pink and the other brown. Her sundress was gone, now replaced with a white jacket, brown pants and her sandals were swapped for white boots.

Most notably, her hair changed from blonde, to a bizarre combination of white, brown and pink.

She pulled away from the chuckling ginger to pull out her Scroll, typing a message and holding it up to him.

( _Roman, you know I hate that "Little Girl" shit, I'm a grown woman! I'm just a little short.)_

Roman chuckled. "OK, that was mean, I admit. But you look so convincing. I have to say, out of all your disguises, this has got to be in the top three".

Neo gave a playful little bow. ( _I aim to please. But did you really need to snatch me up and pin me to the hull?)_

"What, are you saying you don't like to play rough?", Roman countered, causing Neo to grin in a way anyone else would've found unsettling.

"That's what I thought", Roman smiled back. Though truth be told, as much as he liked his time with Neo, maybe snatching what looked like a little girl, holding her and then kissing her in broad daylight, wasn't the safest of moves. Sure he was a criminal, but even he had standards.

Still, he and Neo always loved a little risk in their lives. It kept things interesting.

Not that he'd ever get bored of _her._

Neo wasn't like any other woman he'd met. She was beautiful, charming, fucking crazy in the best way possible and most of all, loyal.

She was someone who'd always be by his side. Someone he'd always _want_ at his side.

 _Just one more job. One more job to get us outta this stinking Kingdom, those stupid kids and this rotten string of bad luck I've had since I teamed up with that crazy pyromaniac._

His "partnership" with Cinder Fall had come to a rather abrupt ending, upon Neo informing her of some of the "Changes" her new world order had in store.

Needless to say, he wasn't really a fan.

So after a very hostile "Resignation", he and Neo had to get the hell out of Vale as fast as they could, at least until the heat died down and even _that_ could take a year.

 _As much as I hated that evil whore, she had finances and resources. Things I am now running out of. We pull this off, we'll have enough to start fresh in Vacuo. Just the two of us._

 _Like I promised._

Roman decided to snap himself out of his deep thought and returned his attention to his partner. She looked up at him worried.

( _Hey. This job's gonna go smooth. Don't worry.)_

"Pfft, me? Worried? My dear I'm insulted", Roman teased, comforting Neo that Roman was still feeling alright enough to act like an ass.

( _Good. We ready?)_

"Yeah. In fact we're running late", he said that last part with a suspicious look.

( _It's was an ice cream truck Roman, what did you think I was gonna do?)_

"We need to break your ice cream addiction", he said, as she reached for her umbrella until he held his arms in the air.

"Kidding, kidding".

 _(Damn right you are!)_

"Anyway, the assholes called and said they want us over by their boat, pronto".

( _Leaving here right now is a_ _ **lot**_ _better than you'd think)_ , she "said", then holding a picture of two very familiar girls eating ice cream she'd taken earlier.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! Where do I have to go get away from those freaking kids?!"

Neo decided to answer for him as she'd started the boat and made their way towards their destination.

They'd managed to evade detection by the police or worse, the Beacon Crew. Now, all they needed to do was play their roles and it would be smooth sailing.

She shuddered at that last part, fearing she was picking up her brawler rival's puns.

 **International Waters (Hijacked Cargo Hauler)**

 _Well, these boys aren't getting any points for style._

The "boys" Roman was referring to exactly, were members of the Dust Devils, a Dust smuggling gang that used to own the Dust trade in the Black Market and even a few seemingly legitimate organisations, in Vale. That was until the White Fang moved in town.

But they never _really_ went away. They didn't have a leadership anymore, instead it was all the lieutenants of the Devil's founder becoming Warlords of different areas. The man they were about to meet, "Ralph the Knife", was the biggest player. He was vicious but not very bright.

 _Just the way I like em._

Roman had sought Ralph out for a high paying job to get himself and Neo a fresh start. He would've went to Junior, but the bastard was already a step ahead of him and took the twins to start a casino in Atlas, far away from the fallout of all the trouble Roman's failed business venture had left in the underworld. And there was _no way_ he could go to what little was _left_ of the White Fang for help. What hadn't been laid to waste in the criminal duo's explosive "resignation" probably wanted his head on a stick.

So, Dust Devil's it was. It was a pretty straight forward job. Apparently, Ralph had a bit of a grudge with a man named Terrence Zola, an industrialist who was giving old man Schnee a run for his money in the Dust business. Zola also had a sizeable private army that had been choking the life out of the Dust Devil's raid on his shipments.

Ralph was getting pissed off. He needed leverage on Zola to get him to ease off. Luckily for him, he had a daughter. Precious little Matilda Zola. Roman had done his homework and everything just told him that she was the apple of her old man's eye. He really loved her to pieces. And if someone took her from him, well…what wouldn't a super wealthy, loving father do to get his precious little girl back?

So, the plan was simple, Roman snatched Matilda and handed her off to Ralph and in return, Ralph gives Roman enough cash to start fresh.

Simple, efficient and easy to remember. A simple plan.

But anyone who knew Roman, who _really_ knew Roman, should've realised two things about this deal. 1: Roman is a bad man, but he has his limits. 2: Nothing is ever simple with Roman Torchwick.

Roman moved his boat next to the Devil's hijacked cargo hauler and was greeted by two of the roughest looking men he'd ever seen, neither of which, looked happy to see him.

"Good day gentlemen. How's those extra chromosomes doing?"

Neither of the brutes seemed amused.

"I kid, I kid", Roman laughed to himself.

"Where's da kid?", the thug on the left barked.

 _Oh sure. I give_ _ **you**_ _the kid, then you shoot me and then Ralph doesn't have to pay me. What kind of moron do you peg me for?_

"Where's da Ralph?", Roman mimicked, mocking him.

The insulted thug growled, reached for some concealed weapon in his jacket, but the other thug advised against it, not wanting to incur their boss' wrath because his partner has a short temper.

The angered one snarled and went to fetch Ralph.

Roman, calm and collected as always, reached out for a cigar and flicked open his lighter, enjoying a nice long drag.

The thug returned, with the one and only, Ralph the Knife. The man wasn't the big, bulking mass of muscle many would've assumed. He was a lanky, sketchy looking man, with tanned skin and tally mark tattoos, each one marked for a new piece of territory earned, a tradition amongst Devils. He was dressed in a red shirt, with a green dragon, the gang's signature shirt and some ripped jeans, with at least seven knives hanging from his belts.

 _Well, at least he lives up to the name._

Ralph's love of knives had come from his early days as street rat of Vale's downtown, knife fighting for whatever food he could get. His savagery got the Devil's interests and pretty soon, he made it to lieutenant of West Vale.

"Torchwick. You late. You know me no liking ma deals being late".

"Oh Ralph, my friend, I promise you, there was no one else in the world I wanted to see. I just had to make sure I wasn't being followed and took a detour. Wouldn't want the cops or those White Fang vermin crashing our little meeting, would we?", he justified.

Ralph hummed in agreement, but still seemed impatient.

"Da girl?"

Roman nodded and heaved up a box that was making thudding noises from the inside, which seemed to please Ralph, bringing a sinister looking smile to the lanky man's face.

"Got her right here. Where's my money?"

Ralph laughed. "Roman, Roman. Me be wanting to be seeing more dan a noisy box. You specitng me to be throwing you two million Lien for, what, a box a rabbits?", he chuckled.

"My dear Ralph, I'm hurt! You really think I'd to that?"

Ralph just looked back at him, face unchanged.

"Well, I wouldn't do it to _you",_ Roman corrected. He knew Ralph, though not criminal mastermind of the year, had been in this game long enough to know, you had to see the goods before making the deal.

Roman placed the crate down and whacked the lock off with Melodic Cudgel, prying the lid off to reveal a young girl, hands and legs bound by rope and mouth duck taped. She had shoulder length brown hair and green eyes, looked up at Roman, Ralph and the two Devils, beyond terrified at the sight of the four criminals looking at her, like vulture waiting for their dinner.

Ralph laughed at the sight. This was definitely the girl he was looking for. He'd finally gotten the bargaining chip he needed to get the Dust Devil's back in business.

Roman almost felt bad for the poor girl.

Almost.

"Alright, I showed you mine, you show me yours. The money", Roman reiterated.

Ralph's sick grin grew wider.

"Y'know Roman, me always liked you. Once, you was a legend in dis Kingdom. But den, you go an be dealin with da Fangs. Da fuckas wot drove da Devils outta Vale! And we see you prancin around wit dat Red Dressed Whore, while we fightin over scraps! You sold us out Roman. You helped da bitch and her mutts move in on our turf!"

Roman was still calm, as Ralph and his men pulled guns on him. He raised his hands as one jumped over and grabbed the girl, who thrashed harder than ever as she was carried onto the cargo hauler.

"Dis be breakin me heart Roman. Really it do. Once, I woulda wanted to be like you. But now? Da Red Whore done left your ass and you nothin no more. Me don't owe you jack!", he chortled.

Roman just looked down at his watch and took another long drag of his cigar.

"Any last words Torchwick? Or did ya run outta funny things to say?"

Roman then looked back up at Ralph, this time sporting that famous, I've got you where I want you, look.

"Actually, I do have something to say. Are you open to a new deal, seeing as this one no longer benefits either party?

Ralph was silent for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Roman, you is a funny man, but your party da only one dat be poor. I got da girl, you don't got da money".

"Correction. You have _a_ girl, not _the_ girl. A girl, who if you're thick-as-bricks friend clearly hasn't realised, just stopped thrashing".

All three looked at the girl, who was indeed no longer thrashing and now had her eyes trained on Ralph, and seemed to have miraculously changed from scared to amused.

"What da-", Ralph never got the chance to finish that sentence as the girl _shattered_ in his henchmen's arms.

As the bamboozled thug looked in shock the pieces of what was once a girl, a thin blade went through his neck.

Ralph and his surviving thug looked to see their accomplice choking on his own blood, falling face first into the water, revealing a multi-coloured girl, holding an umbrella with a bloodied blade emerged from the top.

She looked at them, pink eyes trained on them with a sadistic glee.

The thug raised his gun in fear, only to feel Melodic Cudgel's hook handle wrap around his wrist, disarming him, as Roman climbed aboard, giving the brute an uppercut that knocked him on his back, knocking him out.

Ralph went straight for his knives, only to feel Neo's blade poking his back.

Roman looked right back at Ralph, smirking, while Ralph growled, closed his eyes and raised his hands.

"Well played, Torchwick", Ralph admitted.

"Flattered, but I do believe my _beautiful_ assistant deserves the praise. Well done Neo, I actually thought you were really afraid there", Roman clapped, making Neo smile and bowing her head.

"Well, you gonna be killing me?", Ralph asked. Roman had to give it to him. He wasn't some punk like the kind Cinder liked to employ. A brat that would suck up to whatever their boss told them to and cried when they weren't there to hold their hand. This guy was like Roman. Worked his way from the ground up and knew how The Business went. He was ready to die.

Fortunately, Roman didn't want him to die.

"Come now Ralph, how long do you think I've been doing this? I know my positon. All my friends skipped town and anyone left in Vale, hates my guts. I have nothing to stand on, so you never had any good reason to uphold your end. And plus, killing me, probably would've definitely made people back on land happy. Am I right?"

Ralph nodded. "Dat be right".

"Thought so. This deal, it was a lie, from both of us. I was never going to happen and that's all right. Nothing personal, all's forgiven. This _new deal,_ however, is very real. And, seeing as I'm a professional, I don't like making a deal when the man I'm dealing with is at knife point, so…", he gestured to Neo, who flicked her blade back into her umbrella and passed Ralph the crate she'd previously been "captured" in.

Ralph sat down and Neo moved next to Roman.

"So, this new deal, and trust me, you'll love it, goes something like this. Obviously, I am not welcomed home for a while. Helping other gangs, that's one thing. Helping terrorists? Politics and business are very complex bedfellows, but I'm man enough to admit when I screwed up, siding with the least popular group of psychos in Remnant".

This was very true. No one liked the White Fang. Especially in the underworld. Granted people like Roman, Neo and Ralph were bad people, but the Fang crossed lines, even they wouldn't. It took a lot to disgust criminals like them. That, combined with Roman aiding the Fang taking Vale from the native criminals, had really hurt his reputation amongst the other powers and had placed a giant bullseye on his head, back and other places he'd rather not think of.

"I admit, foolish greed blinded me, but I know, making it seemed like I was buddy-buddy with those Faunus mutts really hurt my rep. Even the worst of us hates the Fang. What we do, it's business. What _they_ do, their idea of a new world, it's not one that the rest of the underworld's powers would favour. Disturbs the balance".

Roman offered Ralph a cigar. He took it and lit it with a match.

"So yeah, no Vale for me for a while. At least until the heat dies down. Which means until the cops and the gangs find something new to be pissed off at. And that's where you come in".

"Me?"

"Yes. Here's what's going to happen. You are going back to Vale and you are going to make the Dust Devil's the new dominant gang in Vale".

"And how me gonna do dat?"

"Neo", Roman asked as Neo tossed a data chip to Ralph. Ralph caught it and inspected it.

"The people I worked for. The uh, "Red Whore". She was planning big. Really big. After our…differences, she left behind a lot".

"A lot of what?"

"Everything. Dust, guns, mechs, bases, you name it. Everything a growing warlord needs to make sure he's the one in charge".

Ralph was finally getting it. "And it's all on dis chip".

"Correct. Not only that, but it's got information on the White Fang in Vale. Member's names, hideout locations and even gang traitors who've been helping them kick gangs like you outta town".

Ralph let out a puff of smoke. "Torchwick, you just given me an empire and a way to kill da Fangs. Why?"

"I want you to go home, turn the Dust Devils into Vale's new top gang and tell everyone, Roman Torchwick infiltrated the White Fang to give you this advantage. That all the talk about me working with those bastards were lies and I was the one who helped you rid Vale of their cancer. Eventually, they'll either believe you or they'll like the story enough, that I can come back home. Of course, once I do, I'll be the proud owner of a new empire in Vacuo. One, only the Devil's will be allowed to trade with and those you permit to do so. Basically, I'm giving you two criminal empires for the price of coming back home in a year's time".

Ralph was interested.

"I could-"

"Yes you could try and take the chip and kill us and you'd do better than most. Or, you can take a sure fire deal that makes you a very rich, very powerful man and that brings me back into the game and lets me come home without everyone with a grudge against the White Fang, which is everybody, trying to kill me. And let's face it Ralph, after today, a sure fire deal, would be a welcomed change".

Ralph looked at the duo, then at the chip. He smiled.

"You gotta a deal Torchwick. Me will clear you name wit da other gangs. Once I've brought them in line and butchered dem Faunus Fang fuckas".

"Fantastic. Oh, there's also one, tiny extra request I have".

Ralph frowned, but decided to hear him out.

"Your attacks on Zola's Dust business? It's gotta stop. I mean, come on, you know it's just way too costly to screw with a guy who has military grade weaponry guarding his stuff when I'm giving you more Dust than you'll know what to do with".

Ralph nodded. Truth be told, raiding Zola was becoming more trouble than it was worth and he didn't need to take those risks anymore now that he had this data.

"Deal", he said, clasping Roman's hand and shaking it.

"But if this be a trick-"

"Then I have no way to go back home and you track me down with more men and skin me alive. Believe me on this one, I am done with over the top plans. I just want back in the game. No tricks. No traps. Just business".

Ralph nodded and allowed Roman and Neo to climb back into their boat and speed off.

He turned to his unconscious henchman and gave him a kick.

"Hank. Wake you dumbass up. We got work to be doing", he smiled as he looked onto the horizon, dreaming of his new empire.

 **Patch, Beach (Docks)**

Roman and Neo had returned to the docks and made their way to a fishing boat that had a man standing in front of it.

Roman nodded to the man, who led the duo into the boat's cabin. Upon entry, he was greeted by none other, than Terrence Zola and four bodyguards.

"Is it…is it done?", the man asked, obviously very unhappy about being in this positon.

"Mr Zola, wouldn't you believe it, even Devils can have a change of heart. It seems Ralph won't be making anymore moves to hurt your business or sweet little Matilda ever again".

"So he's…"

"Dead? Nah. Kill one gang leader another pops up. Plus, that would just give them more reason to attack you. A happy, satisfied gangster is better than a pissed off, desperate gangster. Trust me, they aren't interested in you anymore".

Zola sighed in relief.

Roman liked to stroke his ego. When Ralph gave him the offer to kidnap Matilda, naturally it would've been a simple job. But when he realised all he'd need to do is have Neo play body double rather than kidnap the girl, he made another deal with Zola, saying he could get the Dust Devils off his back for good.

He knew Ralph would've never paid him, but now Zola had to. If he went back on Roman's deal, with Ralph still alive, no one would be left to persuade him not to return his focus to his business and beloved daughter if the notion ever got to his head again.

In short. Roman had Ralph and Zola in a position where they needed him.

"Ahem", Roman coughed.

"Oh, yes of course", Zola nodded as one of his men offered a case of Lien.

"Two million Lien, all there as agreed. If you wish to count it…"

"Mr Zola, in my line of work, counting your pay in front of the employer is poor form. It says, "I don't believe you". And of course I believe you. I mean, no one want's this deal to go wrong after all".

"Of course not. Then our business is complete?"

Roman looked to Neo. She nodded.

"We're done here. Now, obviously this never actually happened. A man of your standing can't be seen dealing with people of my…disposition. That being said however", Roman said, his voice now far more threatening.

"If I happen to find the police in Vacuo getting a tip of my whereabouts upon my arrival…well, who can tell what those foul Dust Devils might do while I'm locked away, unable to talk sense into them. After all…", he reached for a cigar walking to the door, Neo still looking at Zola, grinning viciously, immediately eroding any thoughts the man had of outing Roman to the authorities.

"Not every criminal in Vale is as _reasonable_ as Ralph. We clear?"

"Transparently".

Roman opened the door and made his way back to his boat, Neo close behind him.

Terrence Zola breathed freely once more. Yes, he'd just let the most wanted man in Vale loose, but in dealing with one devil, he'd saved his precious Matilda from far more sinister forces. He knew Roman Torchwick was not the most trustworthy of men, but he knew it was better to play with him than against him.

 **International Waters (Far Beyond Valean Duristiction)**

Roman Torchwick was laughing his head off. He'd just made two million Lien, salvaged his reputation and was now on his way to start a new life in Vacuo with his partner in crime and life.

Said partner was currently opening the bottle of wine saved for celebrating their big score.

Roman walked over to her and scooped her up by the waist, spinning her around and cheering. Neo hugged him smiling.

"We did it Neo. We actually did it!"

Neo nuzzled her face into the crook off his neck and he could feel her tears wet against his skin as she cried with joy.

They'd made it out of this whole sorry mess alive and better than ever. Neo couldn't have been happier. Especially considering what a certain pyromaniac had originally intended for her beloved Roman.

Neo had discovered not to long before the festival, that she and Roman were supposed to be left to die on Ironwood's ship and that Adam Taurus would take Roman's place as her partner.

Naturally, the duo didn't take kindly to this. So at night, she unleashed all the captured Grimm they were planning to release on the attack and watched the White Fang drown in a sea of their own blood and screams as the monsters tore them limb from limb.

 _No one double crosses us and NO ONE tries to hurt my Roman and gets away with it!_

Cinder of course wasn't too happy, but she and Roman had dealt with the witch and her two lapdogs.

The short, multi-coloured girl thought it funny that two off the most notorious criminals in Vale actually saved it from certain destruction.

Roman set her back down on her feet, kneeling to meet her face and smiled with a genuine happiness only she'd ever seen.

He was never a monster to her.

To her, he was that lanky ginger boy in the bowler hat, who pulled her out of the gutter. Who held her tight when she cried in her sleep because she thought someone was going to take her, like she'd seen happen to people every day on the streets.

The boy who beat the living crap out of a girl who'd called Neo a freak because of her eyes. Who told her she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen and treated her like a princess.

The boy who grew into the man she loved. Who was always there for her. Then man who was willing to play dice with the devil herself, Cinder Fall, just because he knew she'd use her to get to him if he didn't.

 _I can't afford to lose you._

He said that to her when she was uncertain about their deal. To remind her he did it all for her.

Turns out, Cinder should've realised Neo couldn't afford to lose Roman either.

Roman offered Neo a glass of wine, bringing her back to reality. She smiled and accepted the glass.

"To us", Roman toasted as they clanked their glasses together.

Neo sipped her glass, only to find something solid meeting her lips.

Upon her inspection, she froze at the sight of the object in the glass.

It was a ring, with a beautiful diamond.

Roman got on one knee, picked up the ring and held one of her hands.

"Neo, you're the best thing that ever happened to a scumbag like me. You're special. Me and you, we belong together. And I want to keep it that way. Now, I'm sorry I can't get us anything fancy yet, y'know, because we'd get arrested…", he joked, causing Neo to give a silent, wet giggle.

"But all the same, you deserve this. You deserve a man, who will love you for the rest of time and stay with you forever. Neopolation…", he pleaded, looking her in her teary white eyes.

"Will you give me the chance to be that man? Will you be my wife?"

Neo flipped out her Scroll, but her mind wouldn't let her think of words to type properly with too many feeling rushing through her head, so she tossed it aside and jumped up and down, kissing Roman, who eagerly slipped on the ring.

"Hot damn! Oh ho ho yes! Thank you Neo! I promise, things are gonna be better from now on. No more cults, no more crazy broads, just me and you. Hell, I'll even buy an ice cream parlour in Vacuo when we get there. And we'll have a real place to live and we can do whatever we want without those stinking kids at our heels. I promise, you won't regret this", he promised, tearing up as well.

Neo beyond happy. Her dream was finally coming true. She was really going to have a real life with the person she held most dear.

The two drew in close to kiss, when a loud banging came from the crates in the cargo hold.

"Oh right. I nearly forgot. Loose ends", he smiled, which Neo soon returned.

She picked her Scroll back up and went down with her, now-soon-to-be-husband, and stared at three, very long crates with air holes in them, thudding about.

Roman smiled and opened them up, revealing, bound and gagged, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury, all three glaring daggers at the smirking duo.

"Hey guys. Sorry about the accommodations, but it was the best I could do on such short notice", he smiled.

"I honestly don't know what all the fuss is about. I mean, you said you wanted _all loose ends_ tied up. And from me and Neo's point of view….", he said with a grin that just raised the trio's ire beyond comprehension.

"Your ends are looking pretty loose".

Roman pulled out a gun and tossed it to Neo, who caught it and pointed it at the three angry ex-crime lords.

"So my dear, how should we end our "business venture" with these guys?"

Neo held up her Scroll.

 _(With a bang)._

"I fucking love you".

 _(I know),_ Neo typed, kissing Roman deeply while still pointing the gun at the trio.

And with three gunshots, the duo sailed off to Vacuo.

Leaving behind three corpses in the water and a message to anyone however found them.

All is fair in love and war. And Roman and Neopolation Torchwick, knew both of those very well.

 **Little thing I'd like to share, this pairing was always my favourite. The only thing I love more than villains are villains that share a bond with each other. Roman and Neo just go so well together. He's witty, she's silent. He's tall, she's short. He loves fire, she loves ice. I really loved their chemistry.**

 **So that's it. All the chapters about romance are done. And so is the theme of the chapter characters getting a happy ending. Now…now there is only ONE, tiny little detail that needs to be taken care of.**

 **So, let's go over the rules I made in Chapter 2. If they've made an appearance, they're safe. So Beacon Crew? Safe. Roman and Neo. Safe. Cinder and her cronies? Eliminated.**

 **I also said, it won't be a tragedy. So, let's see. Who's the most worthless, despicable, contemptable, vile, repulsive, disgusting, wretched, ire raising, and hateable piece of crap in RWBY?**

 **Who am I going to kill off, that, quite frankly, probably won't be and shouldn't be missed?**

 **Who could've incurred this T-Rex's wrath?**

 **Well ladies and gentlemen, the wait is over.**

 **The unlucky winner of this author's demented imagination, is the one and thankfully only, Adam Taurus the King of Losers.**

 **So see you next time, for Adam vs the Beach.**


End file.
